Castaways
by rumpleswagskin
Summary: On a mission to Cuba, the team are stranded on a deserted island with no communication and no way of getting home. What goings on will occur in the duration? TIVA! Slight McAbby and Jibbs! PLEASE R&R! Love ya's!
1. Cuba!

**A/N: PLEASE READ!**

**Okay, SO! Before you guys that have subscribed to "A Very Interesting Sleepover" start edging ominously towards me with steak knives—hear me out! You guys know I am up to the Truth or Dare chapter, and I have been trying REALLY hard to make it good enough to meet your expectations, because I know you have been waiting for it. But honestly I am having SOOO much trouble! I have deleted it and rewritten it so many times that I have lost count and it is depressing me…so to ease my sadness I decided to act on this random idea that has been floating around my head for a while. Hope you like…! Xx**

"Hello…!" Tony yelled. "Somebody! Extremely sexy Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo in need of rescuing here!" he complained, sinking down onto the hot sand with a _plop_.

"Tony give it up, no one is going to hear us. There is no one _to_ hear us!" scowled Ziva, who was currently attempting to light a signal fire by scraping two rocks together.

"That's _because_, Ziva, you give in too easily," Tony smirked. Ziva got up angrily at this.

"Give _in_, Tony? _GIVE IN? _We are stranded on a deserted island in the middle of the Bahamas with no technology, no way home, and no one knows that we are here!" she shouted, frustrated. Tony smiled, but this time inwardly, being cautious of the angry ninja holding the sharp rocks in front of him. He swore that Ziva was the only woman that could make murderous glaring look hot – even when directed at him. Not that he'd ever tell her that, because as was mentioned before, those rocks looked dangerous.

"Hmm…Bahamas, no technology, no one knowing we're here…so by all accounts, this should be a vacation!" Tony grinned. Ziva sighed exasperatedly at him. He just didn't get the seriousness of the situation they were in. If Abby and McGee did not find fresh water any time soon, they all could die out here!

**~One Day Ago~**

Abby bounced up and down both from her caffeine-induced hyperactivity and the fact that she had just received rather exciting news.

"I can NOT believe that we get to go on a mission in Cuba! And that **I** get to come with you guys!" she squealed. The island country was shown on a map on the large screen in the middle of the bullpen, accompanied by a picture of a serious Marine in front of the American flag. Tony held the remote, Ziva close by him. McGee stood on the other side. Gibbs stood with an angry expression in the middle. He did **not** like this situation one bit.

"**Why**, does Abby have to come with you?" he mumbled to Tony. Gibbs did not like Abby being out of his sight, let alone in another country right in the line of fire, in danger. Tony shrugged.

"Naval Lieutenant Maxwell Larson," Tony indicated, pointing to another Navy photo that had appeared on the screen, "is our killer's commanding officer, and is in charge of the country-wide search for him in Cuba. As such, he has requested our help," he explained. Gibbs raised his eyebrows.

"Tell me something I **don't **already know, DiNozzo?" he said, like a question. Tony scrambled for a button on the remote.

"Yeah Boss, uh.." he began. He found the button, minimizing the Lieutenant's photo and zooming in on the one originally on the screen, of the Marine.

"Our killer, Officer Jerry Hart, is on the run in Cuba," Ziva said, indicating the disciplined-appearing Marine.

"Lieutenant Larson has requested that we bring three of our best field agents to locate him," said Tony, turning to Gibbs. "But…he also **requested** we bring a forensic specialist…as they don't currently have one there and there's a **big** ol' empty lab over there with Abby's name on it," he finished.

"Requested?" questioned Gibbs.

"More like **ordered**…" Tony amended. Gibbs sighed. He flicked his head in the giggling forensic scientist's direction, and then indicated the rest of the team. Gibbs himself couldn't come because he had prior arrangements with the director, so McGee's face lit up. He had previously thought that he was going to be left behind with Ducky, Palmer, and that creepy secretary from accounts…the one that always smoothed her hair down onto her forehead…eugh…

And so at 0600 hours the next morning, the team sat rubbing their sleep-ridden eyes while waiting around the back of the airport for their private flight. McGee yawned widely, not bothering to hide the dark circles under his eyes. Tony was pretty much falling asleep in his seat. Even Abby, who was normally the most energetic of them all, sat tiredly next to them, and wearily clutched a failing Caf-Pow. The only exception to the mob was Ziva, who had her hair tied neatly into a high ponytail, wore a white silk blouse and dress jeans and looked wide awake and professional.

As Tony began nodding off again, a cargo plane zoomed loudly along the runway near them. He jerked awake and blinked rapidly, to the amusement of Ziva. He glared at her. Abby sighed impatiently.

"Where is the plane?" she groaned. "I don't wanna wait any – oh! Here it is! YAY!" she squealed, clapping her hands together. The team followed Abby's gaze to a small, plain-looking private jet, just wheeling itself towards them. They got up, and headed towards the aircraft.

As they were walking, the pilot stepped out of the plane. He was probably around his early thirties and had curly sandy blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. He walked towards them with a friendly smile and shook all their hands.

"Hey! I'm Garrett Poole, your pilot for today," he greeted. He went to Abby. "You must be miss Abigail Sciuto, yes?" smiled Garrett, after registering her goth appearance. Abby smiled in return. He took a look at the laptop in McGee's hand. "And...you are Timothy McGee! You are a _Runescape_ legend!" he exclaimed. McGee blushed and stammered, something along the lines of 'being better at WoW*,' as Garrett studied Tony with an _I've heard a LOT about you_ type expression. "Anthony DiNozzo. Huh, whaddaya know, I've heard about you!" he said, but his eyes read _"I've heard waaay more than I should have." _Lastly he reached Ziva, and his eyes widened as he saw her. He gave his biggest grin ever. "And _you_, are Ziva David. And let me tell you, the amazing descriptions I have heard of you do you no justice," he flirted unashamedly. Ziva smiled and batted her eyelashes a bit. Tony scowled – he didn't like this guy.

As they piled onto the plane, Abby took one last look at Washington. Soon she was going to be at a warm haven. _Goodbye stinging, icy rain, hello hot sunshine! _she thought. The team took their seats, there were only four. Abby sat next to the window and Ziva sat down next to her. Across the aisle were Tony and McGee – McGee by the window. Each team member had their own little radio in case they needed to communicate with the pilot. Ziva picked up hers.

"I thought it was illegal to travel directly from America to Cuba," she questioned. Garrett replied.

"_It __**is**__ illegal, beautiful_," he drawled flirtily, "_without government permission. And we __**have **__government permission. It's got to do with our trading system – nothing you should worry your pretty little head about_," he assured through the speaker. Ziva's grip tightened on the radio, her expression rapidly changed to one of annoyance and irritation. She murmured an angry string of almost inaudible words in Hebrew. Tony grinned and almost laughed out loud at her reaction. If Garrett knew anything about Ziva at _all_, he would know that she hated being referred to as one of those weak bimbos that let the _big strong men_ do all the work. Tony chuckled quietly. _Take THAT, Romeo, _he thought.

"_So we_ _will be arriving in Cuba in approximately 10* hours," _said Garrett over the plane's speakers.

**(A/N: Sorry! Because flying from America to Cuba is illegal without government permission, I couldn't find a flight duration online! And because I live in Australia I have NO idea about an estimate. I apologize if it is way off, because it probably is!)**

"_So sit back and enjoy the flight!" _he finished. Tony glanced around. McGee had begun watching a movie on his laptop, Ziva was reading a book with her iPod in her ears, Abby had a pair of retro headphones on, blasting her strange music at full volume. Leaning over and taking a look at her old Classic iPod's screen, he realized she was listening to _Brain Matter_, her favourite band. And so Tony settled in, watching McGee's movie - MeninBlack. One of his favourites.

Seven hours later, Ziva had fallen asleep with her head on Abby's shoulder, her ponytail splayed over her. Abby was snoring softly with her head resting on top of Ziva's. McGee lay with his eyes closed, but Tony wasn't sure if he was asleep. They were currently approaching a few scattered islands at the edge of the Bahamas. All of a sudden, there was a sputtering sound, and the plane trembled, and causing the teams' stomachs to lurch, violently plunged a thousand feet. The others woke up in shock as the aircraft attempted to regain its height, when it dropped again, sending the passengers reeling forwards. Garrett's static voice came over the radio.

"_Uh! Uh…I'm sorry guys! But we seem to-AGH- be experiencing some violent-NO- turbulence! Just make sure everyone has their seatbelt on okay?" _ he shouted, seeming panicky. The team were scared. This wasn't something they could just point their guns at and make go away. The plane dropped further, and began shaking and rocking in different directions. It then plunged further and further towards the ocean. It did not go away, and when Tony looked out the window and noticed that they were much closer to the water than they should be. The plane's movements merely got worse. Finally, Garrett's voice reappeared.

"_G-guys? Okay it's me. We…we're going down…" _he trembled.

And then he cut out.

Abby screamed. They were now heading nose down towards the ocean. This was it. They were going to die. McGee's eyes met Abby's. She was clutching Bert for dear life, tears making black trails down her cheeks. They just looked at each other, their gazes bringing them what meagre comfort was possible.

Tony's hand reached across the aisle for Ziva's, who was also searching for his. Their fingers intertwined, they held each other and braced themselves for impact. Brown eyes met green.

And with that, the plane plummeted its last thousand feet, and crashed.

**A/N: So what do you guys think? I wish I could read your minds but I can't…so I'll just have to settle for reading your reviews instead! Leave me a comment, I love you guys!**

**xXtegannXx**


	2. Crash

**A/N: Thanks again for reading, you guys. I bought a pretty new writing book today, for when I'm out of the house and have a brainstorm. So that means more story! :D**

**Disclaimer: The sucky thing about writing fanfiction is the many, many, many heartbreaking times that it reminds me that I don't own NCIS. :'(**

The crash lasted an excruciating two minutes. The seatbelts were rendered useless against the hard jolting of the quickly deteriorating plane. A loud metallic groan coming from the left side meant that one of the craft's wings was wearing. A _**smash!**_told the team that the entire thing had broken off. The passengers were thrown mercilessly around. McGee, who had been attempting to take refuge under a seat, got his arm caught in between it and another one. A sharp pull forwards ripped his shoulder from his socket, accompanied by a strangled yell from its unfortunate owner. Tears formed in McGee's eyes as his arm was dislocated and he lost all feeling in his fingertips.

Abby instinctively, hearing McGee's pain, stupidly forgot about the crashing plane for the millisecond it took her to unbuckle her seatbelt and stand up in the aisle. The sheer force of the aircraft sent her flying backwards. She landed flat on her back, seriously winded, as a large fragment of broken glass lodged itself deep in her side.

Ziva held onto both her seat and Tony's hand for dear life. The plane threw her from side to side, and once Abby had attempted to get up and had been knocked over in the aisle, there was nothing stopping the side of Ziva's head from smashing against the plane's window, leaving a trail of sticky crimson blood on the glass. As her eyes fluttered closed, her last thoughts were of Tony, and of Tali…how she'd be reunited with her sister soon…

As Ziva's fingers went slack, her hand slipped away from Tony's. He looked over at her and let out a choked cry of anguish as he saw his partner collide with the side of the plane. Her body went limp as she fell to the floor, her dark blood dripping from the side of her face, and tangling her beautiful hair.

Tony made to reach over to her, but that was when he saw Abby's gasping frame, face twisted in pain, lying in the aisle. The people around him were dying. His family. People he loved.

And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Tony scrambled madly for his seatbelt buckle. Abby and Ziva's lives were slowly slipping away from them, the blood from Ziva's head and Abby's stomach mixing together on the carpet. He needed to help them, even if it cost him his own life. McGee would live, possibly. (If any of them did) His shoulder was only badly dislocated. His face showed agony, but he was still very much conscious, unlike Tony's partner, and _almost_ the forensic scientist as well.

Tony shoved at the seatbelt button, pushed it, punched it, but it was of no use. The button was jammed. He growled angrily and ripped at the strap stopping him from saving them. Bad idea. His force merely triggered an automatic reaction with the belt, causing it to constrict tighter, and tighter, and tighter until it was cutting off his circulation and blocking his windpipe. He choked and gasped and his weak fingers attempted to pry the device off of him, but to no avail. Eventually, black and purple spots appeared in front of his eyes, lulling him into a deep sleep.

* * *

An hour later, Tony woke up with his seatbelt slack around him. It took a few moments for the previous events to sink into his befuddled mind. His heart dropped as he remembered where he was and he stood up abruptly, which only resulted in a painful head rush and a small loss of footing. As he regained his balance, Tony revelled in the warm tropical breeze lifting the hairs on the nape of his neck. Wait…

Breeze?

Tony whipped around to discover that the entire left half of the plane had broken off. And that wasn't the scariest thing.

The scariest thing was that Ziva and Abby were nowhere to be found.

The silence was almost haunting; all Tony could hear was the steady pounding of waves, seemingly in sync with the heavy throbbing of the blood in his ears. McGee was gone too. This could not be happening. Tony's hands flew to his head. Was he the only survivor? He began hyperventilating and tears sprang to his eyes as he started shaking in fear, shock and panic. Images flew through his mind at light speed. He could not imagine a life without his trusty Probie, no matter how much he made fun of him, Abby's ecstatic energy, Ziva's dark-lashed eyes and frequently misquoted idioms…

_No…no! No! Please don't be… _was the thought that ran through his horrified mind.

He let out a cry. At that moment, he heard someone else shout in pain near the craft. He froze. Someone that could help him. Although he wasn't sure anything could help him anymore…

Tony jumped out the broken side of the plane and his feet landed with a _thud_ on the hot white sand. He appeared to be on a small island. The water creeping onto the shore was crystal blue and transparent, so that he could see the brightly coloured fish that played beneath the surface. The snow-white sand stretched for a little, before disappearing into leafy green rainforest. The sky was clear and the air was crisp. But none of this had any effect on him. What had an effect on him was the annoyed and now in pain man a few metres away from Tony, attempting to get a cell signal.

"Probie!" he cried, half sighing in relief. McGee turned to him. A large smile worked its way across his face. Tim had never been so happy to see the Senior Agent. He even ignored the irritating nickname.

"Tony!" he yelled. He walked over quickly. "Are you okay? I was gonna get you out here after I loosened your seatbelt, but Abby said it probably would be best if we left you because of your airway and your head and all, and the hot air out here wouldn't do you any favours and-" he rambled. Tony cut him off.

"_Abby_? She's alive?" he said, his face lighting up like Christmas day. McGee's expression could only match Tony's.

"Yeah, she's fine! I patched up her stomach and she's just resting a bit now, around the corner," he smiled. Tony was euphoric.

"So where's Ziva?" he grinned. McGee's expression sobered quicker than he thought was possible. His face was grim, the blood draining from his face.

"Ziva…Ziva's…" McGee gulped. Tony's heart fell down to his feet. No..not his ninja…she couldn't be…She was too strong for…

"McGee. Where. Is. Ziva," he growled, his voice breaking slightly on the last word. He was fighting back the tears from his eyes. He couldn't appear weak. He was not weak. Tim noticed his reaction sadly.

"Sh-she's around the corner. Abby's with her. She won't let go of her," said McGee. The words blurred together until they became as bleary and fuzzy as Tony's liquid-filled eyes. All he could focus on was the movement of his legs against the wind as he ran with all the speed he could muster, forgetting about his throbbing head, around the corner of the island. This could not be happening. This was a dream. This was not real. He was at home and in his bed, about to leave for work in the morning, where he would see Ziva healthy as normal, her skin glowing with sweat from her morning run, not a single hair out of place in her high ponytail, her dark eyes watching him from across the bullpen when she thought he wasn't looking, her mischievous smile making he himself grin. Tony told himself these things over and over again in his head, but he knew, he just _knew_ in his heart that it wasn't true. When he was back at work, _if _he ever got back to work, the chair across from him would remain as empty and dust-covered as it was after Kate…

On the horizon, he watched as a small, black-haired speck appeared, clutching another like life itself. As Tony got closer, he saw that the other was a limp, pale body in the first's arms. Finally, when his legs would barely work anymore, he arrived next to them, collapsing with pain on the sand.

Abby's eyes were bloodshot and filled with unshed tears. Her eye makeup left black trails down her cheeks as her weak arms held Ziva's body.

Ziva's eyes were closed, her expression almost peaceful. She lay limp in her friend's arms, her skin paler than it had even been in Somalia. On the side of her head, a thick white gauze pad rested. Abby's arms wrapped around her torso and her own fell on either side of her. Tony's face was wet with anguished tears, as Abby lifted her defeated head and uttered the words that near changed his life.

"She's not dead."

**A/N: YES! I KNOW! Sorry :( I'll try to update quickly, and don't worry, because it WILL explain their strange and seemingly over-reactive actions. REVIEW, my awesome readers, REVIEW!**


	3. Coma

**A/N: Okay, I know this is a **_**really**_** terrible chapter, kinda angsty too, but I needed to get it out of the way to move on with the proper story. The rest will be better! Promise?**

Blackness.

It was all she could see.

From every direction.

Surrounding her.

Pressing up against her.

Drowning her.

Slowly making her lose her mind.

* * *

The tears Tony had been holding back escaped and flowed freely down his cheeks.

"Sh-she's not?" he stuttered. Ziva wasn't dead. Tony knew in his mind that he should be rejoicing, but something held him back. Something told him that there was more to it than that. "Then why…why…?" he began, barely being able to form logical thoughts. Abby looked at her distraught friend with pity. She took a big sniff, and launched into her explanation.

"When Z-Ziva hit her head against the window, it was more than just a hit," Abby started. "She hit it with the force of the plane, she basically smashed her skull," she explained sadly. Tony winced. "The sheer power of the impact cracked a bit of her skull, and from these marks here," Abby indicated a few ugly-looking purplish bruises around the gauze, "we can deduce that she has severe internal bleeding," she said. Tears welled up in her eyes and threatened to spill over again, but she willed herself to finish. "Z-Ziva's slipped into a coma…and we don't know if she'll ever…_ever wake up again_," Abby sobbed the last few words as she wrapped herself into a ball around her friend. Tony was in shock. Seeing and hearing Ziva, Mossad-ninja-_Ziva_ like this broke his heart, and actually hurt him physically as well. There were sharp pains in his chest whenever he looked at her, but he could not look away.

Tony knelt down next to his partner. He brushed away a lock of hair that had fallen onto her forehead, and ran the back of his finger down her pallid cheek. Her skin was soft, but the scarring on it ruined that. He looked up at Abby.

"Abs, please…can I…" he pleaded. As soon as Abby realized what he was asking, she shook her head. She wasn't going to let go of her. Tony grabbed Abby's chin and pulled it so that she met his green eyes. The sorrow and agony in them was unbearable. She tried to look away from the pain and guilt but Tony would not let her. "Abby. Please." Abby looked so broken. It killed Tony inside. He was used to seeing her so happy. Eventually Abby sighed and let Ziva go. Gently Tony placed his arms under her, lifted her up and placed her in his lap. He looked at Abby. "Go help McGee. Before he hurts himself," he said drily, with the ghost of a smile on his face. Abby nodded and left, leaving Tony alone with his fallen warrior.

"Oh, Ziva…" he sighed. He held her close to him and pressed a kiss to her forehead, leaving his lips there longer than he should have. She would wake up. When she was ready. But this consideration reminded him of the exact same one that he had thought when Ziva was in Somalia. And they all knew how that had ended.

* * *

The blackness was beginning to annoy her. There was somewhere she was supposed to be, something she was supposed to do! But she couldn't remember…

Then, the answer crashed over her like a wave.

Images of her terrified friends, a crashing plane, Tony's hand, a blood-stained window and an unbearable pain in her head, then…nothing. That was when the blackness had come. _Oh no…NO! _she thought. Her friends could be dead and she was sitting here unconscious! But she had been unconscious before, and it did not last this long. What if she was in a coma? She felt herself being moved, from shaking arms to stronger ones. "Oh, Ziva…" the person sighed. She knew that voice anywhere. _Tony._ He was alive. She felt him hold her closer to him and was a little surprised. Then she felt soft lips on her forehead. He had kissed her? _That_ was definitely unexpected. _NO!_ She had to pay attention to the more important things. First on the agenda: waking up.

**A/N: WOW, ANGSTY! Didn't mean for that to happen…don't worry things will look up soon…and I'm not finished this chapter yet.**

**

* * *

**

As Abby reached McGee, he regarded her grimly.

"How is he?" he asked, anxiously. Abby shrugged her shoulders.

"He's…coping," she answered, trying not to give too much away. McGee sighed in relief—he had been afraid of Tony going on an angry murderous rampage.

"Okay. Can you help me try to get a fire together? It's gonna be a cold one tonight," McGee asked as he indicated the build-up of clouds on the now twilight-streaked horizon. Abby nodded as she went off with McGee to fetch sticks and wood for their campfire, trying not to think of Tony back with his partner.

The little Ziva inside her head paced backwards and forwards, irritated. She could not move. She could not help her team. She could not do _anything_ of use! It was maddening! She had been going through ways to wake herself up but none of them succeeded. She had tried pinching herself, punching herself, slapping herself…okay so the only things she could think of involved self-inflicted violence, so what? She could not think of anything better. She was still in Tony's arms—which was a little weird. He had not moved for what Ziva had counted as six hours. God she wanted to wake up…

Although it would be strange waking up while Tony was holding her.

Yes, that _would_ prove a little awkward.

But she would rather face that awkwardness than remain here, useless, any longer. So she did the only thing that she could think of left to do that might work.

She willed herself to wake up.

* * *

Tony had lost count of how long he had sat there. He didn't care. He would sit there forever if he had to. The only clue he had in regards to time was the slowly changing sky, that had gone from baby blue, to streaked with pink, to flecked with gold, to lilac purple, to medium blue, to pitch black. The moon cast silvery pools on everything in sight, including Ziva's face, which was the only thing Tony was paying attention to. He didn't even notice the figure until it was right beside him.

"Tony?" a voice asked nervously. Tony jumped. He pulled his gaze away from his partner to let his vision fall on an anxious looking McGee.

"What?" Tony said, monotonously. Tim looked nervous as all hell to disturb the agent.

"Uh, Abby…Abby sent me to get you to come back. It's eight o'clock, and we've got a fire going. You can't stay here forever," he said. Tony looked at him sceptically.

"Yeah, I can. And I plan to," he said drily.

"You can bring her with you. The cold all the way over here probably isn't doing her any good anyway," McGee suggested. Tony realized he was being a bit stupid and reluctantly agreed. He got up, scooping Ziva in his arms like a child and feeling her shiver slightly. He was surprised. Could a person in a coma shiver? Evidently. He hugged her tighter and walked slightly faster around the corner, spotting the familiar orange glow of a campfire in the distance. He squinted. It looked like Abby had rustled up a few blankets from the wreck.

The sand that had been so hot today had cooled down extremely, like ice on his bare feet. As he watched the ground in front of him, the sudden feeling of being watched that came with being an agent took him over. He shook it off. The island was deserted. There was no one here.

_Wake up, Ziva! Wake up! WAKE UP! _she willed herself. She was cold and wanted to help her team. Tony's body heat was the only thing keeping her from getting frostbite, but it was only on one side of her. She thought of McGee, of Tony, of _Abby_. She could be of so much use to them! She had been sent on missions that involved surviving in the wild before! Poor McGee would be going crazy without technology, Abby missing her Caf-Pow, Tony longing to watch a movie. She knew ways to find water, food, shelter. Her team needed her. So with the last ounce of her strength, she begged herself to awaken.

_Ziva David. WAKE. UP!_

_

* * *

_

What happened next nearly caused Tony to fall over.

Ziva's eyes opened with a gasp of air, like she had been underwater and had just taken her first breath of oxygen. Tony's jaw dropped and his legs nearly buckled underneath him with relief.

"Ziva! _Ziva_!" he shouted. McGee turned around and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Ziva's eyes were unfocused and it took her a while to concentrate on the only thing she could see—Tony's face. She was breathing heavily and looked scared.

"T-Tony?" she questioned, confused.

* * *

It was like she had been drowning and her head had been pulled out of the water. No more black. Colours, blurring, drifting in and out of focus. She took large breaths of air as her eyes struggled to focus on what was in front of her. It was a face, _that_ she was sure of. And it seemed familiar. All of a sudden everything fell into place and she recognized who it was. Although, what was going on puzzled her.

"T-Tony?"

**A/N: Yeah, I know. Ah well. :)**


	4. Cold

"ZIVA! Oh my god, Ziva!" Tony cried in relief as Ziva's eyes blinked wildly around. Abby screamed, both in shock and relief. McGee was completely gobsmacked and just stook with his jaw hanging open.

"I- I am awake?" exclaimed Ziva, who seemed to be in shock as well. "How…how am I…?" she began. Ziva crinkled her eyebrows. "Never mind…_AH_ my head!" she cried. Tony winced at the expression of pain on her face. Abby's eyes were wide.

"Z-Ziva…_HOW?_ This is impossible! You have severe internal bleeding in your brain! You aren't supposed to be awake! Not that I'm not glad that you're awake and all, wow that sounded mean. Okay I am _incredibly_ deliriously happy that you're awake, as happy as a person _can _be but this…this is a miracle! I mean-" Abby rambled at 1000 kilometres an hour. Ziva interrupted her.

"ABBY! I _know _what you mean, and I am glad to see you too, but…" she trailed off. McGee looked at her.

"But what?" he asked. Ziva had a confused expression on her face.

"I too, do not understand how I am awake…" she said. That was the first time she noticed the position she was in, curled on Tony's lap, held tight against his chest. She became immediately uncomfortable and attempted to get up, but Tony's muscular grip held her back.

"_Oh _no. You aren't going anywhere. You've just woken up from a coma! Not to mention your head injuries…" he said in a serious tone. Ziva pondered this for a moment. Tony sounded _genuinely_ concerned, and didn't seem to be taking any pleasure in having her on his lap with his arms around her. In fact, that seemed to be the last thing on his mind. But this didn't excuse her lying around and being useless. She shot him a glare.

"_Anthony. DiNozzo._ If you do not let me up right now, you will experience the most severe pain you ever have felt in your entire life in approximately four and a half seconds," she said murderously, her eyes narrowed. Tony smirked, but let her go, watching her struggle to her feet intently.

Once Ziva had her feet firmly planted on the ground, she did not do anything for a short moment. That was when Tony noticed her swaying on the spot slightly, her expression blank, her eyes rolling back and her hand flying to her head. Tony flew to his feet quicker than humanly possible, just in time to catch her in his arms after her knees had buckled under her.

"ZIVA!" he yelled at her face, her eyes now closed. They fluttered open again, an embarrassed and ashamed expression on her face.

"There is no need to shout," she said, blushing furiously. Tony and the others sighed in relief. He smirked at the ninja assassin, now rendered a helpless damsel-in-distress in his arms. He knew her well enough that he could tell she was infuriated with herself, and her lack of strength.

"Still sure you can make it on your own?" he grinned at her. Her eyes shot daggers at him.

"I am _fine_," she insisted. "I just need a little time to…_wake up_," she finished. Tony gave her a sarcastic smile. _Suuuure_ she did.

"At least put me down on the ground," said Ziva. Abby rushed over to her and wagged her finger in her face.

"Uh-uh, Miss David!" she warned, "The current state of your system is _far_ too weak to handle the temperature, and the harsh feel of being on the ground without adequate heat," she continued. McGee watched, amazed at Abby. She _really _knew her stuff. More than he thought she did. "Your body could completely shut down on us and you could fall into a coma again!" she finished. Ziva frowned. She _really _could not handle the awkwardness of this situation.

"McGee!" she said. Tim turned his head towards her. "Could _you_ at least hold me?" asked Ziva. Tony feigned a look of hurt on his face. McGee nervously replied.

"Um, I'm kinda…I'm…not really strong enough, Ziva. Sorry," he said. Ziva desperately turned to Abby. She shrugged in defence.

"Don't look at me! My arms were about to break after two hours over there. Not that you're heavy or anything, I'm just kinda weak. I mean, the only exercise I really get is bowling, and I use one of the lightest balls, and not to mention the added sugar content of my daily Caf-Pows…" Abby said. Her eyes became wistful at the mention of Caf-Pow. Oh, how she could use one _right now_…

Ziva was frustrated. It looked like she was stuck with Tony holding her the whole night. She wasn't really surprised, she guessed. McGee was fit, but definitely lacked Tony's toned, sculpted arms and muscled physique that came with being a Phys. Ed major at Ohio State. Even as she rested now, she could feel the power behind his biceps and…

Whoa.

Wait a second.

What was she _thinking_?

Was…was she just ogling Tony?

No.

Definitely not.

No way!

She...she can't have been!

But she was.

_Oh my God…I was just checking out Tony, _she thought as her mouth fell slightly open. _Completely and blatantly checking out his body! No…why…it must have been…_ She was attempting to make mental excuses to herself as a dark blush slowly crept up her neck to her face.

Tony was confused. One moment Ziva's eyes had glazed over and she was biting the corner of her lip sexily, then her mouth fell open in surprise, and the next moment she was blushing madly. Whatever the hell was going on inside her head, Tony decided he didn't want to know.

While this was happening, McGee and Abby had pulled a few logs, whitened by the sea, over to the campfire as seats, and chucked Tony a blanket as they settled themselves around the flames. Abby and McGee wrapped themselves up like mummies as the cold night air chilled any exposed skin. Ziva began to shiver violently, so Tony grabbed the blanket and bundled it around the two of them, against Ziva's protests.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

Two hours later, as the fire began to die, and its last embers were being scattered across the sand by a chilling wind, Abby had gotten up to gather a few sticks and tend to it. She shakily pulled the box of matches that she had recovered from the wreck, to re-light the blaze. All of their stomachs were growling.

"So…" began McGee. "Any thoughts on how we're gonna get home?" he asked. Though he knew it would not happen, he looked around the circle expectantly, hoping that someone would come up with a miraculous solution. He was answered only by Abby's voice.

"We wait," she said simply. McGee looked at her.

"Wait for who? A rescue team? We were on a private flight! Odds are nobody even knows that it went down…" he said, all optimism gone.

"No," replied Abby, overlooking his tone. "We don't wait for a rescue team," she said. The others looked at her. "We wait for Gibbs," she continued in a strong voice. "Because he'll find us," she insisted. "He always does."

The team realized at that _exact _point, that no matter how loose this point was, no matter how many other points could shoot it down, that they had to wish for it. Because at the moment it was the only shred of hope left.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

The next morning, the team awoke in a mess of blankets around a pile of blackened wood and ash. Abby and McGee lay huddled together, and Tony on the other side by himself, with a cold empty spot next to him that had not been there last night. Immediately panicking, he got up and looked around for a sign of Ziva. When there was none, he rushed over to the other agents and shook their shoulders.

"Abby, Probie! Get up! Ziva's…" he began, before his line of vision travelled to something behind them.

"Ziva's what, Tony? TONY!" yelled Abby. A slow grin spread over his face.

Ziva stood behind the other agents, one hand on her hip, the other clutching what appeared to be a dead rabbit. She had ripped all but the top of her jeans off, leaving a pair of ripped short shorts behind, and also the bottom of her white blouse, exposing her toned stomach, to create rags to wrap the hare in. Her hair hung loose and blew around her face, tangled like the wild had made it. The morning sun shone golden behind her, and a light sheen of sweat covered her tanned skin. She smirked arrogantly. Tony returned it; her inflated ego reminded him of himself.

McGee was panicking. "Ziva's what?" he exclaimed.

"Ziva's…got breakfast," he said to them in awe.

"Well I guess _you're _feeling better," he joked, as Ziva approached them.

"And just how did you-"

"My hairpin," she answered, cutting him off as she walked past, revealing a small and very blunt strip of plastic in her hand. Tony shook his head, still grinning. Only Ziva could kill a speedy wild animal with a normally-harmless object after just waking up from a coma. Was it weird that he found that _really hot_ even though she stood clutching a dead, skinned mammal with her left hand dripping blood? Probably.

"Whoa, Ziva! Nice job…it's a big one too!" said McGee, impressed. "I know how to cook these, we learnt in Scouts." It was good that McGee had skills they could use, after all he _was_ trained for this, though he normally had a GPS and a portable stove whenever he "camped."

And so the team sat around the newly remade fire, a spit slowly being turned over the top, while ravenously ripping off chunks of the rabbit. The fat dripped from their fingers as they ate, enjoying their first meal since yesterday's morning. Abby chewed thoughtfully, worrying.

_You're coming, right Gibbs? You always do. You find us, even when we think we've left no traces behind. You're good at that. It's what you do. And you never give up…you'll find us, dead or alive!_

_Oh no. Wait…I know you'll find us but…what if you don't get here in time? What if we're already gone, Gibbs? Hurry…please. We miss you…and we need you. We need you now, Gibbs, before it's too late!_

**A/N: Phew! I wrote that in one sitting for you guys! Did you like it? I hope you did…sorry if the detail on the rabbit was too much for you, but it has to be expected in a survival fic. Leave a review for me and let me know what you think! Love ya's!  
xXtegannXx**


	5. Closer

**A/N: Sorry for my absence, but here's a MASSIVELY long (for me) chapter with huge amounts of Tiva in it for you! Enjoy!**

The day became hotter as the tropical sun slowly ambled its way to the centrepoint of the sky. McGee licked his parched lips, attempting to restore _some _moisture, but his tongue remained a dry piece of leather, sticking to the roof of his mouth. Tony panted slightly, giving him the appearance of trying to consume the moisture in the air. Abby's eyes fluttered shut every now and then, the heat exhaustion getting to her. Even Ziva swallowed uncomfortably, her throat like sandpaper.

"We…we need to find some w-water," croaked McGee. The ocean water was of course un-drinkable, and the only source of refreshment for their dry skin. But of course, in a tropical climate such as this, did one really expect to find the water cool? No. Though its transparent aquamarine colour appeared chilly, the water remained lukewarm, heated by the now quite annoying yellow orb in the sky.

"Whoa…slow down there, McGenius! Us _normies_ are having trouble keeping up with your unwavering intellect," said Tony sarcastically. At the moment, he lay slumped against a large rock, Ziva's head on his shoulder; it was so hot that neither cared. McGee rolled his eyes at Tony.

"Ha-ha," he said, "But I don't see _you _doing anything about it."

"Maybe because I'm too good-looking to risk a venture in _there_," Tony replied, indicating backwards with his head, causing Ziva slight discomfort as she proceeded to re-dig her face into his neck, the only source of sun-shelter she could find, sighing.

'_There'_ meant the looming jungle behind them, sheltered by twenty foot trees, emerald vines, and humming with wildlife. After the first layer of trees, all that was visible was some shrubbery and no hint of a track. After that, darkness. And the ominous glowing yellow eyes of the dangerous animals that lurked within its depths…or maybe that was just their imaginations playing tricks on them. No one knew.

"I will go, if all of you are too chicken to go yourselves," said Ziva's muffled voice, not bothering to move. Abby and Tony shook their heads quickly, causing Ziva to groan in annoyance.

"No way, Ziva. It was bad enough that you went in there this morning when you got that rabbit!" said Abby, concerned. Ziva rolled her eyes.

"I only went a few metres in, and the thing practically ran over my feet," she argued. "There are a lot of animals in there, and think about it, for animals to live, what do they require?" she asked the others.

"The name '_Tony_?' McGee mumbled, irritated.

"Food and…fresh water! If there are animals, there's gotta be a fresh water stream in there somewhere!" Abby said, her face lighting up like a lightbulb. Ziva nodded. Abby stood up all too quickly, causing a slight head rush, and pulled McGee with her. "Come on Tim!" she said. "We're going in there, and we're _gonna_ find water," she finished, determined. McGee's eyes widened.

"In...in _there_? Are you _crazy_, Abby? We'll get ourselves killed!" he exclaimed, horrified. But nothing could change her mind as she pulled the scared Probationary Agent along behind her like a disobedient puppy, protests flowing out of his mouth at a hundred miles an hour as he went. Tony chuckled. Ziva raised her head from the crook of his neck, amused. As Tony observed her, he noted her appearance. The dirt and sand had taken its toll on her usually glowing and perfect golden skin. A smudge of it lay on her right cheek, her lips dry and cracked from lack of water. Her eyes seemed…cloudy. Not as bright and shining as usual, a combination of a comfortable, sleep-filled night, and the adrenaline from her morning run.

"And what do you propose we do now?" he asked, raising one eyebrow. He knew what _he _wanted to do right now…

"Not what _you_ are thinking, obviously," she smirked, after noticing the fire in his glazed-over eyes. He grinned. She considered for a moment. "Hmm…how about a swim? The water _has_ to be a little cooler than the air right now," she suggested.

"We do not have swimwear, Agent David," he said, still grinning. "Are you proposing we swim _naked_?" he cried, pretending to be outraged. His expression suddenly changed. "I'm up for that," he said, smirking. Ziva smacked his arm in play annoyance.

"_No_…" she growled, trying not to imagine how hot the idea would be. "Fine, I will go by myself," she said.

Tony watched her as she got up and headed over towards a _massive_ rock that dug its way out of the sand. After scaling it effortlessly, Ziva stood at the edge, overlooking the water, with a smile on her face. She brought her toes to the edge, allowing herself a quick look over at the stunned Senior Agent who still had not moved from his spot. _She isn't going to… _he thought.

Not while wearing her current attire, anyway. Ziva smirked while imagining the expression on Tony's face as she did what she did next.

Turning the other way, Ziva dug her fingers under what remained of her blouse and lifted it over her head, her curls falling back down and splaying themselves over her now-bare back, on which a lacy white bra remained the only covering. Tony's bottom jaw lost all grip to the top and hung open limply. He was dreaming. This sort of thing did _not_ happen in real life, only in movies. He was so distracted that he did not notice that Ziva had now ridden herself of her shorts, displaying matching boyshorts. His eyes drank her in, the most skin he'd seen her display since they went undercover five years ago. And _god_ she had changed since then.

Ziva's face displayed an impossibly large grin as she mercilessly teased the speechless man. She turned her head over her shoulder.

"Like what you see, Tony?" she smirked as she called down to him. He didn't even register her words until she took the last step towards the edge of the rock. He even did not realize what she was going to do until it was too late. Ziva swung her arms behind her, then above her head. Her leg muscles tensed as she stepped back , then forward and leapt into the air with her arms above her head into a perfect swan dive to the rippling aqua water below.

"Zi-!" he began, standing up, his eyes wide. She landed with a perfect splash, resurfacing after a few seconds, her wet hair sticking to her skin. She treaded water for a while.

"Well, are you coming in or not?" Ziva called. "Are you _chicken_, Tony?" she grinned. He shook his head, smiling.

"You _really_ shouldn't have said that, Zee-vah!" he replied as he began stripping down to his boxers. Nowhere near as graceful and collected, he took a long run-up, jumped off the rock and cannonballed, purposely landing near Ziva, eliciting a small scream from the Israeli. When Tony resurfaced, she laughed as he slicked his hair off his forehead. He looked at her quizzically as they treaded water.

"You seem to be in a rather _pleasant_ mood," he observed. "Then again, maybe you've resigned yourself to the fact that there are no office supplies within a thousand miles of here that you can maim me with," he joked. She remained smiling—it was a beautiful sight.

"I slept well last night. Why, didn't you?" she grinned, echoing the words that he had once spoken to her on a beautiful morning in Paris. He returned her expression.

"You _are_ in a good mood," he said. They swum over to water that was slightly shallower. Tony tried his best not to let his eyes wander to the body of the exotic beauty in front of him in the crystal water. _Face. Keep it on her face_, he thought. Which he found wasn't too hard, because her face was just as beautiful, her features set alight with the sheen of the water combined with the beams of the midday sun. And made all the more beautiful by her bright smile.

"You probably shouldn't have done that, you know, with your head injury and all," he said, the thought only just occurring to him. Ziva shrugged off this comment.

"I did, and I am fine. So let's move on," she said, as she began a graceful backstroke. He followed her.

"You're right, this _is_ a little cooler than the air," Tony admitted. Ziva rolled off her back to resume treading water.

"You say that like you are surprised that I am right," she joked.

Tony stood up, inwardly grinning that he could touch the ground and the tiny ninja couldn't. Ziva smirked mischievously as she ducked underwater. "Ziva what are you-" he began, before he felt her small hands on his abdomen and sucked in a surprised breath. They roamed upwards, towards his chest and his heart began beating erratically. When her head finally resurfaced, her hands rested just short of his collarbone, and she breathed heavily. Tony's hand reached shakily up to pry a lock of wet hair from her face, and she looked up at him through her dark eyelashes glistening with water droplets. She was still kicking her legs to keep herself afloat, so his arms twined around her waist and pulled her weightless body closer to him in the water. Leaning in, time stopped for the both of them, and all thoughts vanished from their minds until…

"_HEY! _Guys, we found one! We found a st-" yelled Abby. She stopped abruptly in her tracks when she noticed the very intimate position that her two co-workers were in.

"Um…am I _interrupting_ something?" she asked, the world's biggest grin on her face.

The two almost-lovers sprung away from each other like an electric shock. "No! Not interrupting anything! I was just lifting Ziva up to throw her in the water. Why, what do you think we were doing?" Tony blabbered. Ziva smacked her palm to her forehead. When it came to excuses, Tony was useless! He obviously seemed to think that he had done a pretty good job of covering too, and thought that Abby would never suspect what they were actually doing…

Come to think of it, what _were _they actually doing?

Were they going to kiss?

No. That was not possible. Tony did not feel the same way about her, and he had made that much obvious in his dating choices. The many nights she had spent wondering what they would be like together killed her inside, but she had accepted that you could not force feelings that were not there, and had _tried_ to move on.

But failed.

_Miserably._

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

Abby scrambled madly back into the jungle, looking for McGee.

"Tim! _TIM!_ Where are you? You'll never guess what I just saw!" she squealed. She found McGee sitting leaning against a tree by the freshwater stream that they had found. He had saturated his face in the cool liquid, and had a content expression on his face.

"What, Abby? I swear if it's another cute animal I'm gonna-"

"_No!_ Tony and Ziva…they were about to kiss!" she exclaimed, bouncing up and down on the spot. McGee's jaw fell open.

"No, no _way!_ You're _kidding! _You are kidding, right?" he asked, wide-eyed.

"Nope! They were swimming, and Tony had his arms around her, and they were really close, and then they leaned in, and then…" Abby stopped, biting her lip in annoyance.

"And then what?" McGee urged.

"And then…they saw me," she sighed in disappointment. McGee's eyebrows lowered slightly.

"Oh…damn. Now they're probably gonna go all awkward and make excuses to each other," he said.

"Not to mention making excuses to themselves," Abby said sadly.

**A/N: Hope you liked it! Review! :D**


	6. Conversation

**A/N: Sorry for my prolonged absence :(**

Thoroughly refreshed, the team slumped lazily against the emerald green trees in the depths of the rainforest.

Tony and Ziva sat awkwardly as far away from each other as possible, on either side of Abby and McGee. Abby's head lay on McGee's shoulder, and she snored softly. Tim's face wore a pleased expression, yet he felt exceedingly awkward being in the midst of the tension between his two colleagues. The tension that was so thick, he could almost _see _it. He attempted to think of an excuse to leave.

"I…I uh…I'm gonna take Abby back to camp and start trying to organise some shelter. It's getting windy," he stammered. The two partners rolled their eyes, seeing right through his façade. But McGee proceeded to scoop up the six foot Goth girl in his arms like a child, and lovingly carry her away out of the jungle. Tony chuckled as he leaned against his tree.

"I swear, those two are _so _stupid," he said.

"How many years has it been now?" agreed Ziva.

"No idea. But I don't know what's stopping them," Tony said in a far-away voice.

"They need to stop pretending," said Ziva softly.

Their eyes met quickly.

And neither of them knew who they were talking about anymore.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

McGee let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. It was a relief to get away from the other Field Agents.

A couple of months ago, he would have struggled to lift Abby, let alone carry her a couple of hundred metres. But since he had began working out, it felt like he was lifting a small animal. He grinned, pleased with himself. Looking down at Abby made the grin turn into a soft smile. Her mouth was open slightly, her black-fingernailed hands clutched at his shirt and her legs hung limply over one of his arms. He gently placed her down by the remains of the campfire and covered her with a blanket. Abby moaned softly as she snuggled into it.

In a rush of unthinking euphoria, Tim bent down and kissed her forehead. He stood up quickly with a confused expression, wondering what the hell had gotten into him. McGee shook his head and walked off to start building some form of shelter.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

Tony sighed and looked at Ziva.

"Look, we need to talk about this…"

"What happened before-" Ziva began.

"…was just what happens when we let heat stroke get to us," Tony finished. Ziva's face wore a puzzled expression.

"H-heat stroke?" she questioned.

"PSSH yeah! I mean it was _so_ hot…it was messing with our heads! There's no way we had any idea what we were doing," Tony chuckled. Ziva nodded sadly as her heart dropped to her stomach.

And they were once again back to square one.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

That night, after wolfing down a fish that McGee had fluked catching with his hands, the team sat contentedly around the freshly renewed fire, laughing about things that friends laugh about, forgetting their current situation, and just having fun. Abby was as awake as she usually was, and bore good news.

"Guys, I raided the wreckage, and look what I found!" she said, dragging two large, heavy-looking suitcases in front of her so everyone could see them.

"What are they?" asked Ziva.

"Clothes, make-up, costumes, props. This guy must have been pretty theatrical…" Abby mused.

"That was Garrett's job. He transported movie costumes and things to the sets. He's taken the costumes for quite a few movies, even _starred_ in some of them…" said McGee. He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket.

"That is not surprising. Garrett _is_ quite handsome!" giggled Ziva to Abby. Abby joined in as the guys scowled.

"He is _super_ cute!" she laughed dreamily. All of a sudden, Abby stopped, and her expression sobered. Ziva looked concerned.

"What is it, Abby?" she asked.

"Was," whispered Abby. "_Was_ super cute…" she said sadly. Ziva's expression became slightly sad as well.

"What…what ended up happening to him?" she questioned. Abby replied, sighing.

"The cockpit broke off as well. He fell. Into the ocean," she said softly. Ziva gave her a sympathetic look.

The guys watched this exchange silently. From the first time Ziva had arrived at NCIS, when Abby had hated her and thought that she was only there to replace Kate, McGee and Tony had never dreamed that the girls' relationship would become what it was now. They were very close friends. Even best friends.

They shifted onto happier topics.

"So…there are _clothes_ in there?" Ziva asked Abby. Abby grinned.

"Better than," she said. "Make up as well, and it's all in perfect condition. Garrett," she paused, "was on his way to deliver these to the set of a new _James Bond _movie they're keeping under wraps. It happens to be being filmed in Cuba," Abby explained. Tony lit up like a child on Christmas morning at this.

"A new _James Bond_ movie?" he grinned. "Are you sure? How do you know?" he asked.

"I read his flight itinerary," Abby replied, indicating the paper in McGee's hand. Tony looked downright deliriously happy.

"So what kinda props are in there?" McGee asked.

"A boom-box, knives, guns…not _real_ guns," Abby added after seeing Ziva's face light up, (Ziva sank back down, disappointed) "dresses, tuxes, jeans, shirts, all Calvin Klein and Chanel of course," Abby rolled her eyes.

"Only the best for Mister Bond," Tony said in a bad English accent, causing everyone to laugh.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

Leroy Jethro Gibbs sat at his desk, slightly concerned. He had not heard from his team in three days, and that was definitely unlike them. He sipped his coffee, mind working at full speed, trying to concoct theories as to why they had not contacted him.

"Mr. Gibbs?" called Cynthia down from a landing on the stairs. He turned his head toward her. She looked at a file she was holding.

"Director Shepard wishes to see you in MTAC," she said before walking back upstairs. Gibbs got up and headed in the direction of the room, hoping that whatever she wanted to talk about wasn't bad.

_In MTAC_

The Director stood facing the large screen which currently showed a map. Gibbs could not see her face. She heard him come in.

"Jethro."

He stopped in his tracks, hearing the grief in her voice. That was _definitely_ unlike Jenny who, much like Ziva, tended to keep her emotions away from the public eye.

Jenny had turned around, her eyes glistening slightly with unshed tears. Gibbs rushed over to her.

"Jen. What happened? What's going on?" he questioned, resting his hands on the sides of her shoulders. She attempted to regain her composure as she turned back to the screen.

"The private flight that your team was on has gone completely off the map. Its GPS is fried, all the electronics on it are inactive. And the plane hasn't arrived in Cuba."

Gibbs' gut lurched. _No._ They couldn't be…

"All communications between the control towers and the pilot have been shut down. This was the last transmission," the Director said sombrely as she pressed a button.

Bloodcurdling screams were heard over the speakers and a scared Southern accent drawled through the room.

"_Control! Control! The left engine has blown and we're going down. Standing by for instructions!"_

No reply was heard as a loud crash came over the transmission.

_"We've lost a wing! The plane is goin' nose down. We're not gonna make it…"_ Garrett cried hopelessly.

The screams became increasingly louder and things were heard smashing around. Gibbs' heart stopped as he heard a bang and Tony's anguished cry of _"ZIVA!" _ followed by a loud sob.

The next thing he recognized was a shriek of pain that he knew as Abby's. He breathed heavily. This could not be happening…

_"Tell…tell Gina I love her…" _sobbed Garrett.

One last ear-splitting crash was heard and the transmission cut out, Jenny holding her face in her hands.

Gibbs sank down into a chair, his heart in his stomach.

"Jen…" he whispered. She looked up at him in sorrow.

"Jen, it's not over. They could still be alive. And we need to do everything we can to find them," Gibbs said, strong and unwavering. Jenny nodded sadly. Even though it seemed that all hope was lost, they had to try.

**A/N: =(**

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

_Well_, thought McGee, _let's see Tony make fun of me being a Scout __**now**_.

It was rather ingenious if he did say so himself.

There were enough palm fronds lying around on the beach for two of the structures, which resembled oddly shaped tents. The rope he had recovered from the plane wound around the large branches holding them up, then threaded through the palm leaves. The fronds were wound together so tight that McGee had blisters on his hands, and they would let not one breath of wind inside. He had put a large branch standing vertically halfway through one of the sides of the tent, poked holes in a large sheet of the leaves that he had made, and wound them together, to create a door which opened and shut on rope hinges. Tim had also recovered the two double-sized emergency stretchers from the wreck and wheeled them inside, complete with piles of folded clothes from the suitcases as pillows, and the blankets they had found before. All in all, it would be not too uncomfortable, warm at night, and shady in the day. He was proud of himself.

The others were in absolute shock at the ingenuity and flawlessness of his creation, Abby wrapping him in a bear hug and kissing him lightly on the cheek, causing him to blush, Tony clapping him on the back, and Ziva wrapping an arm around his shoulders. They began to sort out the sleeping arrangements.

"I guess I'm sharing with you, Ziva!" Abby grinned. Ziva smiled back. Tony shook his head.

"No way, Abs! You're the heaviest sleeper I know. A tornado could roll through and you still wouldn't wake up. What if something happens to Ziva and her head in the middle of the night?" he said. Abby bit her lip, but nodded in agreement.

"You're worried enough about her, Tony. You'll take good care of her. McGee and I can share. Come on, Timmy!" Abby insisted, dragging McGee over to one of the tents. Ziva glared daggers at Tony.

"You did that on purpose. You just want to sleep with me," she growled. Tony grinned.

"You have _no_ idea how many women have said that to me. Though it's usually followed by a slap," he said, rubbing his cheek.

"Do not think that it is out of the question," Ziva teased as she ducked into the tent and settled herself into the stretcher. Tony chuckled as he climbed in next to her. They both lay looking at each other for a moment.

"Tony…do you think Gibbs will find us?" Ziva asked quietly. She seemed…scared. Tony smiled softly and he stroked a lock of her hair between his fingers, looking her in the eye.

"Of course he will, Zee," he reassured. "He always knows," he added, touching her hand lightly. She smiled in return.

"Goodnight Tony," she whispered, drifting off into a deep sleep.

"You're so beautiful, Ziva," Tony murmured softly, knowing she couldn't hear him.

**A/N: Naaawww! :) heehee. I put some McAbby in there too for good measure, and a little Jibbs. YES in my world, Jenny is still alive. I hate Vance. :( REVIEW PLEASE! Tell me what you would like to see…review for a preview of the next chapter! :D**

**xXtegannXx**


	7. Colour

**A/N: Lots of lovin' in this chapter! Hope you guys like it! And OH by the way, I just remembered, I got a review last chapter from someone not signed in (so I couldn't reply) named Darkgreywolf (). I just wanted to say THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your review definitely made my day, so I dedicate this chapter to YOU! :) Enjoy!**

The next morning, the NCIS team woke pleasantly refreshed, but still with growling stomachs. Abby awakened before McGee and smiled at the way he slept, sprawled out with his mouth open, snoring slightly. The sun's rays peeked lightly through the gaps in the tent's leaf canopy, casting random spots of light over the inside. Abby carefully manoeuvred her way over the sleeping Probationary Agent, and grinned as the pleasantly warm sand greeted her toes. It took her eyes a couple of seconds to adjust to the sudden brightness, and when they did, they were presented with the sight of Ziva lounging back, dipping her toes in the water and soaking up the sun's rays. Abby waved at her.

Ziva squinted back and smiled in return. It had been a relief to escape the tent that morning.

Ziva had awoken bright and early, instantly aware of the presence of arms around her. Panicking, she had reached for the gun she normally kept under her pillow, before remembering where she was, and realizing that the arms belonged to Tony. He lay with his face buried in her hair, breathing lightly on her head. Ziva rolled her eyes, determined to get up and go for a run. She inched ever so slightly out of his grasp, but Tony had responded with a low moan, tightening his grip and pulling the much smaller Ziva back with force, until she was almost flush against him. Although it thrilled her that they were this close, Ziva, being stubborn, had huffed in annoyance, continuing her efforts to escape his vice-like muscular grip, until she succeeded, sighing in relief as she collapsed on the sand, her head throbbing.

"Morning Ziva!" said Abby cheerily as she sat herself down on the sand beside her best friend.

"Good morning, Abby," replied Ziva. "I trust you slept well?" Abby nodded in agreement.

"Soooo much better than the ground," she said, rubbing her head. That was when she noticed Ziva's head. "Hey, you changed your gauze," she observed. Ziva nodded. The clean, white patch of fabric lay on the side of Ziva's head, not far off her temple. "How bad was it?" she winced. Ziva remained indifferent.

"It is still bleeding. It is like…" she paused for a moment, considering, "a large, shallow hole in the side of my head."

Abby cringed. Ziva attempted to change her wording.

"Well, not so much a _hole_. It is more of a gash…" This did not make Abby's reaction any better.

"How do you feel?" Abby asked, worried about her friend. Ziva pondered.

"I feel…_fine_, I guess. Aside from feeling slightly dizzy sometimes. And other times I do tend to get black and purple spots in the corner of my eyes. But apart from that, I am fine," she smiled. Abby still looked concerned, but let it go. She knew that Ziva hated feeling weak, powerless, and it probably hurt a lot more than she was letting on. But there was nothing she was able to do on the island, so for now she had to pray that when Gibbs found them, he would bring medical attention.

They heard a rustle behind them as Tony stumbled, bleary-eyed out of his tent.

"Mornin'," he croaked. He still seemed half asleep. Ziva wondered why he didn't lie down and let himself wake up a bit before he got up.

The truth to this was that Tony had panicked when the warm object that was there before was not there any longer. He remembered vaguely being half asleep holding something in his arms and his face being buried in something that smelled like wildflowers and berries. He wondered if it was Ziva's hair and body, and he shivered at the thought of it. He decided against it, thinking if that were the case, that he probably wouldn't be alive right now. So he had stumbled blindly into the sun, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw the girls down by the water.

"Where's Probie?" asked Tony. Abby indicated behind him to the sleepy agent emerging from the other tent.

"Morning, McSleep-in!" Tony called. McGee plopped down on the sand with the others, and there was silence for a few moments.

"So…what are the plans for today?" asked Tim. The others shrugged.

"I believe…find food, collect water, eat, drink, work on a way to escape," said Ziva.

"Yeah, but that's a given. I mean, what are we gonna do for _fun_?" whined Tony. Ziva could imagine that he was probably dying without his usual movies. He _would_ be quite bored. In fact, now that she thought about it, Ziva was pretty bored too. All of a sudden, Abby jumped, and a grin spread slowly over her face.

"Lightbulb moment?" questioned Tony.

"…yeah! Come on Ziva, I have the BEST idea!" she squealed, happier than she had been in days. She dragged the Israeli away, and confided in her, her plan. Ziva smiled slightly. It was a pretty good idea. But it would require preparation, and the night time.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

Later in the day, the guys sat by the stream in the jungle, bored out of their minds. The girls had completely disappeared from sight all day, and they were on their own. Whatever they were planning—whatever _Abby_ was planning, as they didn't really believe that Ziva was a willing participant in the matter, had better be good, because the boredom was really starting to get to them. The sun began to fall slightly, and the sky began to turn the _slightest_ tinge darker, and they started to get their hopes up. Maybe the girls had come up with something fun to do, like set up a game, or a bonfire. Tony and McGee had spent most of the day out hunting animals unsuccessfully with a sharpened stick, and gathering fruit and berries. They had gathered a good sized basket of fruit (McGee had woven the basket in the same fashion that he had made the tents) but had only managed to spear two small squirrels in regards to meat, (And one of them was a fluke—Tony had fallen backwards and the spear he was holding had pierced it in the eye.) Among the fruit there were a few bananas, a couple of handfuls of strawberries, a coconut, and a rather large and juicy looking mango that they had hit the jackpot in finding.

The sky finally darkened. The air was still, and not a lick of wind bothered to disturb it. It was very slightly humid out. The guys began to trek their way back to the camp, following the familiar orange glow of fire in the sky.

"Tony! Timmy! Hurry up, come on!" The agents could not place where Abby's call had come from, but continued back to the camp. As they were about to step out of the shrubbery, they noticed two small piles of clothes by their feet. They looked at each other, puzzled. Then Abby called again. "Put them on, stupid!" she laughed. "And clean yourselves up. You'll feel _so_ much better!" They shrugged and proceeded to run water through their hair and faces, mixed with the juices of a couple of berries, for the scent, and change into the clothes that had been left there. Tony wore a white button up shirt and light blue jeans, and McGee wore a navy blue shirt and darker jeans. They shrugged and continued out of the jungle, feeling cleaner and fresher, stopping at the sight they saw.

The beach had been transformed. Large fiery torches made of branches dipped in the plane's fuel tank were spaced in a massive rectangle forming a large open area. The floor was scattered with various wildflowers like hibiscus and frangipani. The boom-box that had been recovered from the suitcases sat on one side of the area, and a banquet of the fruit they had collected lay on the other side. Fireflies danced in the sky to a rhythm no one could hear.

"Oh-"

"-wow," Tony finished after McGee cut off. And that was when Abby and Ziva walked around the corner.

Abby wore a simple, strapless black lace dress, with a bow around the middle. Her hair was up in pigtails, like McGee liked it, and she had raided the make-up boxes in the suitcases to find some black lipstick. She wore black lace gloves on her hands, and the biggest ever smile on her face. Her feet were bare. Tim felt his heart speed up, and a slow grin spread over his face. Now _that_ was the Abby he knew and loved.

Ziva's dress was also simple. It was medium length, halter neck, white and summery. Her hair was loose, but somewhat tamed, lying in soft curls that cascaded down her back. Her make-up was soft, neutral, her skin shone and her feet were also bare. A hibiscus flower rested behind her ear, hiding her gauze, and she smirked slightly. Tony's breath caught in his throat. She looked so…_pure_, innocent, like all the horror she had to live through had never happened. And he loved it.

"You guys look…"

"—amazing. We know," smirked Abby, as she and Ziva stepped lightly into the enclosure of torches.

"I love music. And dancing. It makes everything better when I'm down. And in our situation right now…I think we need a bit of fun," said Abby. Ziva watched her through her dark eyelashes. She was right, and this _had_ been a good idea. Plus, Tony looked _unbelievably _sexy in his white shirt, the sleeves slightly pushed up.

The boom-box played music softly and Abby reached down to turn it up. Tony grinned.

"Guns and Roses? HELL yeah!" he exclaimed. He proceeded to do an extremely bad air guitar, making the others chuckle and follow him. They jumped around crazily and laughed for ages, just having fun. The songs blurred into one long string of music.

"TICK TOCK, ON THE CLOCK, NO THE PARTY DON'T STOP, NO! OH, OOH, OH, OOH, OH-OH!" they screamed a couple of hours later while high on endorphins and adrenaline. The song changed again, to one slightly slower. Abby dragged Tim out to the middle of the floor. Tony edged his way to Ziva.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, bowing deeply with his charming DiNozzo smile. Ziva smiled back; she just couldn't resist him. She let him take her hand and lead her out to the middle, their feet treading lightly on the sand. Tony pulled Ziva close, their eyes meeting, and they began to dance slowly, forgetting about everything and everyone else around them.

"You look…_so_ beautiful, Ziva," Tony said quietly. She smiled.

"Thank you," she said. "You look…" _Sexy. Unbelievably model-like sexy._ "…handsome," Ziva finished, not speaking the thoughts that her mind was screaming at her. He grinned. They circled around the floor, sand between their toes, neither caring, as light as air. He pulled her closer, so close their noses almost touched, and her breath caught, before he twirled her out and back in, his arm now resting around her. She could feel Tony's breath on her ear, and she shivered as her heart drummed in her chest. She could feel his heart against her back, and it beat almost as fast as hers. This made her smile.

Abby and Tim stepped their way around the dance floor, for a while not meeting each other's eyes.

"Timmy, look at me," Abby said. Tim raised his eyes and they locked with hers. She smiled. Their eyes never broke contact once for the remainder of the time they danced.

"You look amazing Abby," stammered Tim. She grinned widely.

"Thanks! So do you!" she giggled.

"This was a great idea, you know. I haven't had this much fun in…a _long_ time," Tim said to her. They moved closer together, gliding over the white sand. She kissed him lightly on the cheek in thanks. He blushed slightly, but grinned goofily back to her, which made her laugh. _This is how it should be_, Abby thought. _Just us…me and Tim, Tony and Ziva,_ she looked over at the two other agents, completely lost in each other. _No rules…no Gibbs stopping us. No consequences, nothing holding us back. The only thing I'm missing is Caf-POW…_

Tony and Ziva danced even closer.

"You know, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing, being stuck on this island," Tony thought out loud. Ziva looked puzzled.

"What do you mean?" she questioned.

"Because if we weren't, this never would have happened. I never would have danced with you. And it sorta makes it worth being stranded here," Tony answered. She chuckled slightly.

"Well if _that_ was not the horniest thing I have ever heard…" she said. Tony gave her a strange look. Then realization dawned on him and he laughed out loud.

"_Corniest_. You mean _corniest_, Zee-vah," he chuckled. Ziva had a look of thought for a moment, then pouted slightly.

"Whatever. Same thing," she said. Tony shook his head.

"_Nooo_, they DEFINITELY are not!" he grinned. She smiled back. Looking behind him, she stopped. Tony did also. She reluctantly let him go to investigate what she saw. Tony saw her bend down to the ground.

"Tony, Abby, McGee! Come here," she called. The team rushed over to her. For a moment, they couldn't see what she was looking at.

"Tony, did you not say that you caught _two_ squirrels?" Ziva questioned. Tony nodded. Then the team figured out what they were looking at. One of the squirrels was missing. And that wasn't all. Ziva pointed to the ground.

"Footprints," she stated. "Leading that way." She indicated towards another area of the jungle. "We have not been that way," she said. That was when realization dawned on them.

They were not alone on the island.

**A/N: Ooooh! Hope you guys liked this chapter; I made it especially long for you! Lots of romance in that one! Review please, it makes me so happy! **

**The links to their dresses are on my profile! Check out my other stories while you're there! :)**


	8. Crazed

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! Some LOVE is in the air with this one! :D :D**

**Disclaimer: *sobs quietly in the corner***

"…what? That, that isn't possible! We've been on this island for _days_!" Abby said in shock, shaking her head.

"And if someone else was here, wouldn't they come and find us? I mean, if you were in that position and you found a group of people…" McGee mused.

"You'd wanna meet up with them. Share supplies," said Tony.

Though faint, the footprints were _definitely_ there. Ziva crouched slightly, heading over towards the jungle. She indicated a small area.

"They entered the trees right here," she pointed. "The leaves are bent out of position."

Abby clutched McGee's hand tightly. There was no telling who the person was, or if they were friendly or not. But if one guessed on the fact that they had not met up with them at all…the chances did not look good.

The team returned to their dance area, and settled themselves among the hibiscus and frangipani flowers, cross-legged.

"So what do we do?" asked Abby, as her grip threatened to cut off the circulation in McGee's hand.

"As long as we do not know who this person is, we judge them as a threat. We will have twenty four hour surveillance, take shifts watching the camp. We do not want to take any chances if the intruder decides to raid us and take our supplies in the middle of the night," Ziva said, getting up. Abby stared wide-eyed.

"You really think that they might hurt us?" she asked. Ziva nodded.

"And there might be more than one of them," she said grimly. Abby's head flopped against McGee's shoulder. She was scared.

Tony offered to take the first shift, against Ziva's protests, and the others crawled tiredly into their respective tents. After changing into a small nightie she had found in the suitcase (Of course it was skimpy—it was _James Bond!_) Ziva huddled in a bundle of blankets in the tent, missing the body heat that she had had last night. She grabbed Tony's 'pillow' and held it close, inhaling deeply. It smelled like him, and she instantly relaxed, falling asleep for a few hours.

Tony sat and stared at the sea. He was fine with volunteering for the first shift—he felt he couldn't sleep anyway. Not with someone else on the island. He and McGee were right: why did this mystery person not meet up with them? Tony's mind began to wander, until he started wishing that he had a volleyball named Wilson to keep him company, like Tom Hanks did. In that movie…_Castaways. _

**A/N: Heh. Lol, couldn't resist :)**

The waves broke lightly against the shore, and the moon cast a silvery glow on the water. Tony sighed. He found himself missing NCIS. The building. The bullpen. The elevator. Abby's lab. Autopsy. Ducky and Palmer. Gibbs…

It was probably a bit weird to be missing his boss, but he did. Gibbs always knew what to do, and he had the sort of silent defiance that made you trust him with your life. And right now, he would know exactly what they should be doing to get out. Being Senior Agent, he was in charge whenever his boss was absent, and that included now. Tony stared out to the sea, willing Gibbs to hear him. To tell him what to do to save his Probie, his partner, and Abby. Gibbs would kill him if anything happened to Abby.

But he found himself focusing more on the wellbeing of his partner. He considered not waking her up, letting her sleep and escape from their current nightmare. But he decided against it, figuring that Ziva would probably castrate him in the morning if he did.

Tip toeing over to the tent and opening the make-shift door he felt an instant grin on his face.

Ziva lay huddled in a mess of blankets, clutching Tony's pillow to her face and breathing deeply. Her arms wrapped around it and she looked…peaceful. Relaxed. Cockily, Tony wondered if Ziva liked the way he smelled. He placed a gentle hand on her bare shoulder to wake her up.

Ziva's eyes snapped open instantly, and before he even knew what was happening, Tony was yanked in, pulled down and flipped over onto his back, Ziva sitting on it. She twisted his arm in an extremely painful position behind him, and panted slightly. Tony yelped in pain.

"OW! Ziva—what are you-!" he cried. It took Ziva a while to realize that her captive was actually her partner, and when she did, she still didn't retreat. She instead leant down to whisper right into his ear.

"You should know better than to sneak up on an ex Mossad Officer, Tony," she said. "Our training does not simply…_disappear_," she hissed, twisting his arm even further on the last word. Tony whimpered.

"Okay, _okay_, come on Zee…let-"

"Let you _go_, Tony? Hm, that is _one_ idea, but unfortunately…I am enjoying this far too much," she teased. Tony pushed out a chuckle.

"I can tell…Or maybe you just enjoy the fact that you're…" he took advantage of her momentary distraction and rolled over, leaving Ziva sitting on his abs, panting slightly, "…on _top,_" he grinned. She smirked lightly, her eyes shining with amusement and mischief.

"Do you…_like_ a woman on top?" she taunted him mercilessly, leaning down towards his face. His grin grew wider, cocking one eyebrow at the sexy Israeli that pinned him down. This was probably every man's dream come true. And it was happening to _him._

"Oh you have _no_ idea…" he chuckled. Ziva placed a hand on either side of his head and lowered herself yet even further, so their noses touched lightly.

"I do not? I think I do…" she whispered in a husky voice. Tony could wait no longer.

He lifted his face to cross the remaining distance and captured her lips with his own.

At first, Ziva was in complete shock and didn't respond, but as her brain registered what was happening, she willingly yielded. They fell on their sides, Ziva's arms around his neck, Tony's wrapped around her waist and pulling her closer. Their legs tangled together as they finally gave way to the feelings they had been pushing down for years. He bit softly on her lip causing her to groan in pleasure. Tony and Ziva broke apart reluctantly, only at the sound of Abby exiting her tent to begin her shift. They could hear her searching around for Ziva, who was supposed to be on duty.

"Perhaps…we should…_continue_…this…another time," Ziva panted in between Tony's feverish kisses trailing down her neck to her collarbone. He pouted slightly which made her chuckle. And so Ziva left a disappointed Tony DiNozzo in their tent, to find the Goth forensic scientist that had _no_ idea what had just happened.

"Ziva! What were you doing in _there_? I was getting worried! I mean, not that I think you couldn't handle yourself or anything, but it _was_ you who said that the intruder might hurt us…oh no, now it sounds like I'm blaming you! I'm not, I didn't mean it like that, I was just scared that-" Abby sputtered at her usual lightning pace.

"ABBY! I am fine. I was just going to get a blanket…" Ziva lied. Abby settled.

"Oh. Well okay. It's my shift, so I guess I'll…hey, why are your cheeks so flushed? You're really red…" she questioned. Ziva's eyes widened slightly.

"_Oh_, uh…It is a hot night, no?" she lied again. Abby's eyes narrowed.

"Then _why_ were you going to get a blanket?" she asked, suspiciously. Ziva's mind worked in overdrive.

"I was just getting it to _sit_ on, Abby. And some of the redness must be sunburn," she waved her off. "Go on, it is your shift." Abby considered.

"…Ziva? Will you stay with me for a while? I don't really like being alone in the dark. And I need someone to talk to," she asked. Ziva's mood deflated a little, thinking about the sexy Senior Agent waiting for her return in the tent, but ultimately decided that Abby was suspicious enough as is.

"Of course. But only for a little while; I am getting quite tired," Ziva lied yet again. She really needed to stop being untruthful to Abby. The scientist nodded and settled herself next to the assassin. They did not talk for a little while.

"Ziva? Why do you think Gibbs has his rules?" Abby asked, thinking about how much she would love to be sitting close with Timmy and watching a movie right now. Ziva pondered.

"I believe he thinks that they are for the best. He cares for us. He does not want to see us get hurt," she said. Ziva could barely believe the words coming out of her mouth; she almost felt as if their roles should be reversed in this conversation.

"Yeah. But do you think sometimes…maybe he could be wrong?" she questioned softly. Ziva sighed. She wondered why this subject suddenly came up. What was on Abby's mind?

"He made a rule about that as well. Rule 51, remember?" Ziva answered. Abby nodded. "So…I believe he may have realised that his rules may not be entirely true _all _the time. That he is only human, and he _can_ be wrong," she elaborated. Abby agreed.

They fell silent again, until Ziva made the excuse that she was tired, to return to a still-awake Tony in the tent. They grinned as they faced each other, and Tony wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer. He kissed her softly on the lips. She sighed.

"What took _you_ so long?" asked Tony, planting another kiss just below her ear. Her eyelashes fluttered.

"Why? Did you miss me, Tony?" she teased. He smiled.

"More than you'll ever know," he said. He pulled her closer.

And their lips locked once again.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

The next morning, Tony woke up in a great mood, and it took him a while to figure out whether last night had been a dream or not. But when he found Ziva tucked up tight in his arms, clutching at his chest hair, her head resting in the crook of his neck, he began to think otherwise. That, _and_ the fact that she was only wearing the same lingerie that she was swimming in a few days ago. He grinned, deciding that he didn't need to move for a while.

Ziva groaned in her sleep, and pushed herself even closer to him, digging her face into his neck. She huffed in annoyance. He chuckled. Ziva was exactly the same, even in sleep. He proceeded to play with a lock of her hair until she woke.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

Timothy McGee was not a stupid man.

In fact, he was actually quite smart.

So that was why when Tony and Ziva's usual banter and insults had stopped, he had known that something was up.

They had been acting weird _all day_. First of all, Abby had mentioned Gibbs' rules. Tony had grinned at Ziva, and she had blushed. Ziva. _Blushed_. That was _definitely_ weird.

Then, when Ziva had been crouching on the ground, tracking their intruder, Tony had offered his hand to help her back up. She had gracefully accepted it, and smiled at him. _Even weirder._

Then, almost on impulse, Ziva had reached up and fixed Tony's hair, in the "messy way that she liked it." And he _let her_.

Yes, something was definitely wrong with this picture.

Only he _couldn't _for the life of him figure out what.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

"No luck on our _guest_," Ziva sighed.

"I'm starting to think that this guy _really_ doesn't wanna be found," McGee said. Tony rolled his eyes at him. The NCIS team sat near the mouth of the jungle, tired after a day of searching for their mystery man.

"So what do we do? We can't just keep staying up all night doing guard shifts! We need to be focusing on more important stuff! Like getting home!" Abby said, frustrated. She missed her silver-haired fox, her rambling Scotsman and her autopsy gremlin.

"Well we'll have to put up with the lookout if we want to-"

McGee was cut off by a bloodcurdling masculine scream. The team looked round wildly.

The trees shook and the bushes bent as the figure finally emerged.

The man was dishevelled, his hair flying in every direction, his clothes torn and bloody. His eyes were wild as he ran, pushing his way through the shrub and looking behind him every few steps.

Garrett's last words as he stumbled out of the jungle and continued to bolt for his life-

"Run! For God's sake, _run_! It's coming!" he screamed.

**A/N: Cliffy! Hope you liked it! YAY FOR TIVA! **** If you could take a few seconds to leave a review, I'd really appreciate it! :) **


	9. Cat

"_Run! For god's sake, run! It's coming!"_

Momentarily, the team are in shock and do not respond. Ziva is the first to react.

"What is coming? Garrett, speak! Tell us!" she commands, trying to keep a level head. Garrett has gone completely insane. His eyes roll backwards and forwards into his head, his arms flail and he screams. The others watch them, mouths open in horror.

And that's when the bushes begin to move.

A low rumble sounds throughout the island, shaking the very treetops themselves. Even the slight hum of birdsong seems to cease. The following silence is eerie. Like the part in a horror movie where the stupid girl enters the empty, foreboding house alone. It encroaches on them, and all that is heard is the team's rapid breathing. Garrett whimpers quietly on the ground, clutching at Ziva's ankles. Then they see the eyes.

The bright, glowing yellow eyes that all of them had seen before, but were too scared to claim that they had spied. And the creature that stepped out of the shrub made their hearts jump to their throats.

The cat towered above the team. It was stocky, but still light footed. Its coat was covered in large black ring-like spots. Its eyes glowed the menacing yellow that they had seen earlier. Its growl was low, its many long jagged teeth dripping with saliva. And the look on its face…was like a predator stalking prey. Hunting dinner.

And they were about to become dinner.

Abby screamed. Tony and Tim's reflexes luckily kicked in at that point, and they grabbed her and pulled her away, and into the jungle where they might possibly be able to find a hiding spot until it left.

Ziva bolted, following them. The jaguar leapt after them, growling and roaring.

It was hungry.

The team ran for their lives. Thorns stuck in their feet as they zigzagged through the jungle, but they didn't care. All they could hear was their heavy panting, the blood pumping in their ears, and the roar of the angry jaguar in hot pursuit of them. Whatever Garrett had done to get it angry, it had certainly been bad.

"Run! Run to somewhere out of sight!" yelled Ziva.

The cat roared and Abby screamed again. Tony was in front, Ziva following and McGee pulling Abby along behind them. Garrett had disappeared.

Trees passed in a blur as the jaguar bounded hungrily after them. Their breaths pumped out of them, feet hitting the jungle floor.

The cat became steadily more impatient. It snarled, and Abby began to fall behind. McGee yelled a sound of protest as she became more tired.

Abby's breath became short, coming in jagged rasps. Her legs ached and her lungs screamed for air. Black spots encroached on the corners of her vision and she became dizzy. Tim cried out for her.

"Abby, _no!_ Keep running! I know it hurts, just keep running!" he screamed. But Abby was too far gone. She swayed on the spot slightly.

Abby could hear the jaguar catching up to her. But all of a sudden she didn't care anymore. She was stuck on this island forever, with no hope of getting home anyway. She knew the others would tell Gibbs goodbye…but there was something else she had to say before the cat got her.

"Timmy…I…" she panted.

"No!" he growled, and he stopped in his tracks. He turned back and bolted towards the collapsing forensic scientist.

Abby could feel the jaguar's breath on her neck. Its teeth snapped at her collarbone and everything went light.

_Is this what it feels like to die…?_ she wondered sleepily.

That was when she realized she was still moving.

Catching her breath back, she saw that Tim had scooped her up and was running again, looking behind him in panic every few steps.

Tony led the pack, weaving in and out through the vine-twisted trees. He looked anxiously behind him every few seconds also, checking that Ziva was still following him in her strong stride. Now they just needed to find somewhere to hide until…

That was it.

It wasn't going to stop.

Even if they found somewhere to hide, the jungle cat would lie in wait for their return. And it wasn't going to give up.

_ Unless someone offers themselves up as bait,_ he thought. He glanced back again at Ziva, and knew that if anything happened to her, he wouldn't forgive himself.

So he stopped running.

Ziva, McGee and Abby passed him quickly, turning back in bewilderment.

"Tony! What are you doing? Keep running!" yelled McGee. Tony shook his head.

"It's not gonna stop. I can't let anything happen to you guys…" he said. McGee's mouth fell open.

"Are you _joking_? Tony, this isn't time for jokes! Now come on, we can outrun it! We just have to-"

"_No, _McGee! We can't! It's not gonna stop…not unless it gets fed. Just go!" Tony yelled. McGee finally accepted that he would not budge, and making the hardest decision of his life, turned and left his partner behind. Ziva's eyes widened.

"Tony! You cannot do this! Please…!" she screamed. Tony's eyes filled with tears.

"Keep going, my ninja. You can do it…I love you," he choked. Ziva's lip trembled. She ran over to him, kissing him lightly on the lips, her hand on his cheek. She finally wrenched her eyes away from his, and he turned and ran towards the incoming jaguar.

"_Here_, kitty kitty kitty!" he yelled. The cat's jaws opened and it let out an ear-splitting roar, and Ziva pulled her gaze from her partner, not being able to watch. She ran blindly in the same general direction that McGee had, finally coming out and collapsing on the beach. The jaguar finally cried its last yell. It had found its prey.

There was silence, none of the remaining team wanting to believe what had just happened.

But it sank in.

Abby cried out an anguished sob, huddling herself against McGee, whose eyes were also wet. Tim's heart broke in two. His partner was gone, his last heroic stand to protect them.

Silent tears wove their way down Ziva's cheeks, the man she loved taken brutally from her, what relationship they had managed to have cut short. Her hand twitched towards the jungle.

"I love you too, Tony," she managed to choke quietly.

The quiet drilled into their minds, driving them insane.

And Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo was no more.

**A/N: **_**Don't worry!**_** I PROMISE this will not become angst. Everything is not as it seems… ;)**


	10. Creep!

**A/N: I know a lot of you didn't like the last chapter…I'm really sorry, that's what I get for uploading with a sleep-deprived brain hahahah! Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS. The only thing I own here is my boy-toy Garrett heheh ;)**

Nobody had said a word in hours.

It was sort of a memorial. An unspoken funeral for the heroic Anthony DiNozzo. None of them had to say anything; just a simple look and the three knew what the others were thinking.

They had managed to recover the only artefact of Tony's that they could find- his sunglasses, one arm snapped off and the lenses smashed. The team sat around them, staring vacantly at the frames as if they would magically bring him back.

But they knew they wouldn't.

Abby still sat with a rainbow of black, purple and red smudges down her face, sniffling quietly. Tim's face was completely blank, and his mind seemed to be working in overdrive, attempting to put the pieces of the last few hours together in order to form a picture of something that made sense in his head.

Ziva's bottom lip quivered. A dull ache thudded in her chest, one that felt almost hollow, as if something was missing.

Because something was.

Surprisingly, she was the first to speak.

"Tim…Abby…can I…keep them?" she asked softly, gesturing towards the glasses. Tim nodded solemnly, Abby slightly more reluctant, but agreeing. Gingerly, Ziva picked up the black frames, tucking them beneath her dress, next to her heart. Some part of her hoped that they would fill the void that he had left, but of course they did not.

It wasn't as if Ziva had never lost someone before. Countless people she had become close to, even loved, had been ripped from her. Her mother, Tali, Michael, her father…

But none of them stood anywhere near the pain that she felt now.

Tim raised his head.

"Come on. We need to start thinking about dinner. To— he wouldn't want us to starve," he said. Abby nodded and Ziva silently agreed.

A groan sounded from a couple of metres away and the team jumped. It was too good to be true…could it actually be…?

Nope.

It was Garrett, dragging a dislocated leg behind him, towards the group. He plonked himself down next to Ziva and breathed a sigh of relief.

"_Wow! _That was _one_ angry pussy cat!" he drawled in his heavy southern accent. He shook his sandy blond curls free of a few flecks of dirt. "Sure wouldn't wanna be _her_ dinner. Lucky we got away, ain't that right beautiful?" he cocked his eyebrow at Ziva. She mustered all the energy she could to shoot the most evil death glare she could manage towards him. He visibly trembled a little, but quickly shook it off.

"I was just so darn hungry was all!" he continued, "Wouldn't let me have a single bite of that juicy doe she caught. Animals…" he chuckled. "It was a pretty young thing too, but not nearly the prettiest thing I've ever seen," he winked and smirked at her. Ziva saw red. This guy just didn't give up! Before she pinned him to the ground and murdered him slowly and painfully, she angrily got up and stormed off.

She stood and stared at the sea, looking out of the corner of her eye every so often to check on Abby and McGee, who were contenting themselves with glaring at Garrett.

"What's got _her_ so hot under the collar?" she could hear Garrett asking the others.

"For your information, we just _lost _one of our team members!" Abby snapped. "A team member that _she_ happened to be in _love_ with!" she added for good measure, knowing Ziva would be pleased to get Garrett off her back. He snarled slightly.

"_Love_. Yeah right. A girl like that don't know the meaning of love! Nice try Ponytails, but I ain't buying it. You're just jealous," he growled. Ziva nearly choked on her own saliva. She gritted her teeth and tried to think of something else. How _dare_ he say those things about her, or about Abby for that matter!

"_Jealous?"_ jeered Abby. "Does this look _jealous_ to you?" She pulled McGee in by the collar of his shirt for a romantic kiss, afterwards leaving him in bewilderment with her tears on his cheeks, mixed with her make-up. Garrett rolled his eyes.

"Whatever…I'll show her what the real meaning of love is. And she'll forget all about that annoying, dumbass pretty-boy Agent _DiNozzo_," he taunted, hissing the last word slightly.

That was it. She couldn't take it anymore.

Using all of her Mossad training, Ziva stormed over, twisted Garrett's arm behind his back, kicked his legs out from under him and slammed him to the ground, his mouth filling up with sand as he coughed.

"What in _God's name_ are you doin', woman? If you wanted to be on top of me, you could've just _asked_…" he smirked. She yanked his arm out further.

"_Be quiet_ before I pull your shoulder out of its _socket!"_ she growled. "It is _your fault! _It is because of _you_ that he is dead!" she sobbed. "If you had not have made that jaguar angry and come running to us for help, he would still be alive! And _you _would be dead!" she screamed in his ear. She pulled Garrett's arm yet even further, until she heard cracking sounds. He cried out in pain.

"_Ziva!_ Ziva, _stop! _This isn't going to help! Let him go! Come on, Ziva, you can do it. Just let him go," McGee panicked.

Reluctantly, Ziva stepped off of the man and walked away, leaving herself to her thoughts. He got up and brushed himself off.

"Heh. She's a spitfire, that one. _Fiery_. I like it," Garrett grinned. Abby smacked her palm to her forehead.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

Ziva had managed to capture another squirrel, and that and the previous one combined with the fruit made up their dinner. Abby whispered to Ziva.

"So…what are we going to do about sleeping arrangements?" she questioned softly. Ziva's chest ached even more…Tony was not her tent partner anymore.

"I do not know, but I am _not_ sharing with that baboon," she spat through her teeth.

"I think you mean _buffoon,_ Ziva. And yeah, I figured."

Ziva had to hold back a violent shudder and a sudden sob. Abby was correcting her English. Just like Tony does. Did. Used to do…

"McGee can have him. I…I think I need someone I can talk to tonight," Ziva admitted. Abby nodded slowly.

"Same here," she agreed. Garrett shot Ziva flirty gazes over the fire, and she rolled her eyes, refusing to look at him again.

When the time finally came to go to bed, not many words were spoken. Garrett suddenly appeared behind Ziva, whispering in her ear.

"So…I heard you and that other guy shared…does that mean we're tent partners? Maybe we can finish what you started…" he smirked, tracing his fingers up her shoulder. She shook him off.

"What, me _killing_ you? And for your information, I would much rather share with a family of _cockroaches_ than be within a metre of you," she snapped.

"_Ouch…_" Garrett chuckled. "You'll come round eventually," he grinned, heading towards McGee's tent. Abby walked over, scowling.

"Ugh. What a _creep._ And to think I used to think he was _cute…_" she shuddered. They climbed into the tent and settled down into the blankets.

'Abby…do you mind if we swapped pillows?" Ziva asked, slightly embarrassed. Abby smiled.

"It's fine! Here," she said, handing the one on her side over. Ziva burrowed into it, inhaling Tony's scent deeply. It was rich, musky, earthy, and so entirely, uniquely _him._ And it was still strong on the pillow.

"Why did it have to end up like this, Abby?" Ziva whispered. "He did not deserve it…and he did it for _us_."

"I don't know, Ziva. It's not fair. I miss him so much already…" she whimpered quietly. Ziva rubbed her back.

"It will be okay," soothed Ziva, not even believing her own words.

"_No!_ No it _won't,_ Ziva! It'll never be okay without him! And what do we tell _Gibbs? _That _is_ if we ever get off this island of course…" she cried, broken.

"Do not speak like that. I am sure Gibbs is looking for us right now, Abby. We will get home. And I know it will not be the same, but time will heal us…" said Ziva, daring to dream.

"I hope he is looking Ziva…because if he isn't… well we may as well be dead right now!" Abby said.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

"Jen, you made any progress on tracking them?" Gibbs asked as he strode into MTAC, coffee in hand.

"Not yet. But we're working on it. There's nothing we can use to track them! All their electronics have short circuited…" the director said, frustrated. Gibbs huffed slightly. He was not used to not having his team get whatever information he wanted, _when_ he wanted it.

"All we have is their flight course…" said Jenny, as a bright yellow line drew itself across a map on the screen. Gibbs watched. "The last transmission was received at around 1300 hours. Using the plane's speed and departure time, we can deduce that the plane crashed somewhere around…..here," she indicated as a large red glowing circle encased a few scattered islands on the map. "If they're alive…" she paused, contemplating the awful worst case scenario, "Then they have to be on one of these islands. In the Bahamas," she finished.

"Jen…there's about fifteen islands in that circle. We can't search fifteen islands," said Gibbs, spotting the flaw in the plan.

"Like I said, Jethro," she turned around and looked into his eyes, "we're working on it."

They stood like that for a few moments, until Jimmy burst into the room, glasses slightly askew.

"Uh, Gibbs…? If I could just, _borrow_ you for a second…" he stuttered. Gibbs turned around, irritated.

"_What_, Autopsy Gremlin?" he asked sarcastically. Jimmy ignored the annoying nickname and presented his findings to the boss.

"I thought I might just point out…that map is outdated. That huge tsunami last year wiped out at least half of those islands. They're underwater," he explained.

"Which ones?" asked Gibbs. He didn't know whether to be relieved or worried. Less islands meant less chance of a safe landing, but more chance of finding them if they did.

Jimmy indicated eight islands in the circle that were now currently suffering the same fate as Atlantis. The employees working the computers around the edge of the room put large red crosses on all the ones he pointed to.

Gibbs nodded.

"That's good work, Palmer," said Gibbs quietly. Jimmy grinned goofily, proud of himself. Maybe they would find the team after all.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

The cicadas on the island chirped lazily. It was 0100 and the castaways were fast asleep. That was until they heard it.

It woke Ziva and Abby first, both glancing at each other in shock to make sure it was not only they who had heard it.

A familiar, masculine yell coming from the jungle's direction.

"Did you just-"

"So you heard it too-"

"I thought I was-"

"It almost sounded like-"

"_TONY!_" they both yelled at the same time.

They both scrambled madly out of the tent, to find that McGee and Garrett were already outside, incredulous looks on their faces.

"You heard it! That means he is alive!" screamed a shocked Ziva, a billion weights being lifted off her suffocating heart.

"He must'a escaped the kitty-kat," said Garrett, not nearly as pleased as the others.

"So why isn't he back here? He knows his way through the jungle!" yelled Abby.

"Something's stopping him… we've gotta help him!" puffed McGee.

"Ladies and gentlemen… time for Operation Rescue Tony!" Abby grinned, Ziva joining her.

**A/N: Whew! I liked that chapter a lot more than the last one heheh. Another one I wrote entirely in one sitting for you guys! Hope you liked it! Don't you just love-to-hate Garrett? Hahahah please review! THANK YOU!**

**xXtegannXx**


	11. C'mon!

**A/N: Okay, set aside a bit of time for this chapter—it turned out waaaay longer than originally planned! Hope you like it!**

_PREVIOUSLY:_

"_Time for Operation Rescue Tony."_

"Are y'all outta your _minds?_" Garrett broke the silence with an incredulous expression. The team turned to him.

"What?" they asked in unison.

"You mean…that you're talking 'bout goin' into that jungle, braving and fighting an angry jaguar, and attempting to steal its dinner," scoffed Garrett.

"Yeah…your point being…?" Abby said.

"Well…fighting it is our last resort. Until then, we'll outsmart it. Trick it…sneak Tony out of there…" said McGee, pacing.

"If we sneak into its home while it is out hunting…we should be able to save him," said a faraway Ziva, still in disbelief that Tony was alive.

"Y'all are crazy. I say just leave him to the cat," said Garrett. The team snapped around and glared at him. Abby's eyes shot daggers.

"So _you're_ saying….that we should just _give up_, sign our friend's fate over to a hungry jaguar, and let him be ripped to shreds and eaten," she said in a sickly sweet voice. Her hands had begun shaking.

"Abby…Abby calm down…" said a nervous Tim.

"Well, yeah. It'll probably be over pretty quick. And it saves us from getting in danger of bein' eaten," shrugged Garrett. _That, and the fact that I hate the bastard and he's trying to steal away __**my**__ girl,_ he thought.

"_You,_ are a selfish, low-life _jerk_ who doesn't deserve to even be alive! _You_ should be prisoner of the jaguar, _not him!_ I wish you'd died in the plane crash!" snarled Abby with tears in her eyes. She attempted to leap at him and hit him, but McGee held her back while Abby wept.

"Abbs, why are you crying? You know you shouldn't listen to what he says…" whispered McGee in her ear.

"It's _everything_, Timmy! Tony could be being ripped apart, or already dead as we speak! We're all slowly starving to death…" she cried, "…and I wanna go home! I miss NCIS…I miss Ducky and Jimmy…and I miss Gibbs! I miss him _so_ much…" she sobbed uncontrollably.

McGee took Abby away from the others and sat her down by their camp. Ziva watched as he just held her, stroking her hair with his other arm wrapped around her, whispering words of comfort in her ear. At that moment, Ziva missed Tony even more than she had before. She wanted his strong arms around her, his fingers weaving through her hair, his lips by her ear…

"_Hello._ Earth to Ziva. Come in, Ziva," Garrett grinned beside her. Ziva rolled her eyes.

"What do you want, Garrett?" she snapped. Garrett flinched.

"Jeez…no need for the alligator attitude…_snap snap_," he laughed nervously.

"Well, _what_?" she asked.

"Uh, never mind," he said quickly.

At that point, McGee returned with Abby in tow, a lot stronger and with dry eyes.

"Let's do this," she said.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

Tony shivered as he clutched his arms around himself. It was dark, and the wall of the cave was cold and damp, growing mossy vines. Around him were littered rotten carcasses of various animals, and a twenty centimetre thick layer of bones covered the ground. His clothes were ripped and bloody from when the jaguar had been indecisive about eating him or saving him for later.

A couple of hours ago, she had sauntered in, eyes ablaze, and Tony's heart had thudded in his throat.

"Heh, nice kitty," he gulped.

That was when he had thought that it was all over.

She had grabbed a small gathering of the shirt over his stomach in her teeth and ripped it off, watching him intently. He had not moved. He figured he was done for. His toned abdomen rose up and down rapidly. The cat growled, leant down and sniffed him, letting her tongue wander from her teeth as she ran it over his cuts and bruises. Tasting him.

The jaguar had then huffed, and wandered out of the cave, evidently saving him for later. Tony all but breathed a sigh of relief. He was safe. Temporarily.

Sitting alone in the darkness of the cave, Tony hoped against all hope that the others got away safe. Except for Garrett. He really couldn't care less if he lived or died. He had seen the way that he looked at Ziva, the animalistic lust behind his sky-blue eyes. If Garrett ever tried anything with her and Tony got out of there alive, he swore he would do anything in his power to make him suffer. And once he was done, dying would probably be the kindest thing.

Not that he didn't think that Ziva could handle herself.

_God_, he missed her.

And it had only been two days. At least that was when he had stopped counting and let the hunger take him over. The world wasn't the same without her. And he worried that she had given up on him and settled with Garrett. Images flashed through his mind. Garrett holding her. Garrett touching her. Garrett kissing her. Garrett's lips on her creamy toffee skin, Garrett's fingers though her hair…

Tony's blood boiled and his fists clenched to the point where his nails drew blood from his palms. His teeth gnashed together violently and a red haze crept into the corners of his vision.

If he _ever_ touched her, he would have sheer hell to pay.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

The group sat around the blackened ash that used to be a fire, figuring out a plan for Operation Rescue Tony, as Abby had affectionately named it. Garrett had gone to bed, refusing to take part in "a suicide mission."

"Okay so, first of all, we have to find out where the jaguar is keeping Tony," said Abby.

"In that jungle? It'll most likely be either a cave or a tree, and since it would be nearly impossible to keep Tony up a tree, we'll assume a cave," McGee supposed.

"His scream came from that general direction," Ziva indicated a section of jungle to their left. "Judging by the volume, I do not think it was very close to us. I estimate about a kilometre walk," said Ziva, her mind ticking. McGee nodded.

"Good. At least we know. We need to go prepared, bring blankets, torches, food and water, matches and warm clothes. Though I doubt those suitcases will have anything too warm. We can wrap our supplies in one of the blankets, rip a strip off the side and make a crossed back-strap to carry them."

"Tim! When did you get so good at this?" asked an incredulous Abby. McGee looked smug.

"Proud boy scout since I was six years old. Let's see Tony make fun of me for the stuff that might end up saving him," he smiled. _Huh,_ _irony._

"When do we leave?" asked Ziva.

"Well we can't afford to wait for too long—she might get hungry. Can you tell what time it is?" asked McGee. He was taught to be able to tell the general time of day (morning, midday, afternoon) in Scouts, but Ziva's extensive training enabled her to narrow it down it a ten to twenty minute window.

"Hmm…judging by the position of the sun, I would say that it is about 1025 hours. That should give us plenty of time," she said, vision to the sky.

"Fine. Gather your things, we meet in an hour."

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

An hour later, Ziva, Abby and McGee met at the campfire. All of them had a blanket-bag on their backs, Ziva had fashioned small stake-like spears out of sharpened branch segments, they had luckily caught three more squirrels, a small rabbit and gathered some fruit, and filled a few bottles from the plane wreck with stream water. They were ready.

"Let's go," said a determined Abby.

And with that, they stepped into the jungle.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

The shrubbery chirped with activity as they stepped over the leaf litter.

"How do we know where we're going?" asked Abby, clutching her makeshift spear. "Or how to get back?"

"We'll figure out how to get there," said McGee, "And Ziva will tell us how to get back." She nodded, taking careful note of her surroundings, on careful watch for any predator, and memorising important landmarks that would help them find their way to the camp.

Ominous yellow eyes seemed to watch them from every corner, and Abby shivered. _God, I hope we aren't too late,_ she thought. _If we find Tony's bones all over the ground…I don't know what I'll do. I won't be able to handle it…_

The team panted slightly.

"Ziva, how far would you say we've walked?" asked McGee as they sat down for a rest.

"We have definitely travelled over two kilometres…I would say about 2.1. I cannot see the cave yet," she said as she took a swig from her water bottle. Abby wet a small section of cloth she had ripped from the blanket and placed it on her forehead.

"We cannot rest. We must keep walking," said Ziva as she got up. McGee and Abby reluctantly agreed and they all got up and continued on their journey.

After another half an hour of walking, the team slowed as they reached a different area of the jungle.

The colossal stone structures rose as high as fifteen metres from the ground. They were made from piles of massive boulders forming small caves. A deep rumbling sounded through the clearing. The team were immediately on alert.

"Wait…is that..?" McGee began.

"Snoring. They are sleeping," Ziva said, almost smiling. They tip toed through the clearing, their hopes being spurred on by the thought that _inside one of these structures_, Tony was waiting! Hopefully alive…

All of a sudden, Abby stopped.

"Abbs, what's wrong?" asked a worried McGee. She just stood, staring wide-eyed. She swallowed.

"He's in there," she said quietly. Her arm was outstretched in front of her, pointing to the largest cave of them all. It made the others look puny by comparison.

"Abby…how do you know?" asked Ziva. The scientist's faraway look was making her nervous.

"Call it my _gut_, but…I don't know. All I know…is that he's in there," she said. McGee and Ziva looked at each other, at that point deciding that they had nothing to lose. They would trust Abby's judgement.

They crept to the cave opening. All of a sudden, Ziva's eyes widened and she snatched McGee and Abby behind a cluster of boulders.

"What the-"

Ziva shut McGee up by clasping her hand over his mouth and manoeuvring them slightly to their right. The others finally saw.

Sleeping outside the narrow opening of the cave was the giant jaguar-ess, her long teeth bared as she snored.

Ziva brought the others back behind the boulders and released her hand from Tim's gaping jaw, panting.

"_What are we going to do?_" she mouthed to the others. Abby shrugged, but Tim's eyes lit up. The girls followed his line of vision to a tiny opening in the rocks that made up the cave. Abby turned and beamed widely.

"_Who's the smallest?_" McGee mouthed to Abby. There was a second of non-reaction before they both turned to Ziva. It took another second for her to realize what they were suggesting. She almost protested…but remembering poor cold Anthony DiNozzo stuck in that cave…

She simply nodded.

Grabbing hold of a rock sticking out of the cave wall, she hoisted herself up, ninja style, to the small gap. Ziva bit her lip. She would be very, _very_ lucky to get even halfway through. Sucking her stomach in, Ziva lowered first her legs, then her waist into the blackness. The rocks scraped painfully against her skin as she attempted to get her stomach and chest through.

_Finally_, Ziva fell through the gap, gasping for air from her bloody torso. She couldn't see anything except for a small spot of light thrown on the dirt by the opening she had entered from. She was in a tunnel, so narrow that she had to commando crawl through, rocks and dirt tangling through her hair and her fingers bleeding from grasping the ground. At last, Ziva's fingers felt the end of the tunnel's dirt floor, to a sheer drop.

She couldn't see how far the drop was.

It could have been a metre, it could have been twenty. She didn't know. Taking a deep breath and shutting her eyes tight, Ziva took her leap of faith.

She felt the whoosh of air past her ears. The fall was probably about three and a half metres.

_THUMP!_

Ziva landed in a crouching position. She heard a croaky cough and her heart leapt.

"Wh—what was that? Who's there?" the voice cracked. It was weary, dry and painful sounding…but still, completely and unmistakeably Tony's.

"Tony!" Ziva breathed in relief. There was silence.

"No…it can't be…" the voice whispered. Silence again.

"Z-Ziva?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Where are you? This is a dream, right…" he said uncertainly.

"No. It is not. I am here, Tony," she said softly. She could hear him feeling around the walls to find her.

And when she finally felt his calloused hands on her face, it was all she could do to not melt into his touch. She heard his sharp intake of breath.

"Oh my god…" he choked in relief, his arms wrapping around her waist. She fell into him, her fingers creeping up his torso to find his face. Ziva's fingers intertwined around the back of his neck. Silent tears wove down her cheeks.

One arm left Ziva's waist to travel to her cheek yet again. Tony's thumb traced her bottom lip.

"Tony. If you _ever_ do _anything_ like that again, I will kill you _myself_," she warned, her voice catching slightly with her tears. He chuckled.

"Now how do we get out of here?" Tony questioned. She laced her fingers with his and dragged him to the wall where she had dropped from. He felt her lean down.

"Step on my hands and I will boost you up," she said. Reluctantly, Tony lifted his foot to rest on her hands, and attempted a quick jump. His hands landed on a rock jutting out at the top and he swung himself up. Latching onto a vine in the cave wall, he leant down and offered his hand to Ziva and helped her up. Together they crawled through the narrow tunnel and towards the gap. And finally, Ziva could see his face.

He looked like he had in Somalia.

A large infected looking gash ran from the bottom of his right eye to his mouth. His eyes were tired and red, he was covered in dirt, cuts and bruises and his clothes were ripped. (Not that Ziva particularly minded that last one.) She pulled his arm and after an immense struggle he fell out of the gap between the rocks. Ziva stared at him.

"What?"

"You look…terrible!" she exclaimed. Tony glared at her.

"Thanks," he said sarcastically.

"Hurry. We must find McGee and Abby."

As Ziva began to walk off, Tony stopped her, locking his hand around her wrist. She turned back to see him with a sad expression in his eyes.

"Tony, what is wrong?" she asked, worried.

"Ziva…any second that jag could've woken up. You could have _died_. What the hell were you thinking, coming to save me?" he asked, a pained expression on his face.

A ghost of a smile appeared on her face.

And there was only one thing that she could have said at that moment.

And she did.

"Couldn't live without you, I guess."

**A/N: Hope you guys liked—only a few more chapters til the end! Then I'll set my sights on continuing Worlds Collide and Teenage Dream. Review, PLEASE! Pleeeeaaassseee! :D**


	12. Cute

**A/N: OMG! I'm so sorry! I've had writer's block **_**bad**_** and I've been sooooo busy! I have like, 50 assignments, but I managed to get this down in my almost non-existent spare time :) I hope you like!  
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS. If I did, Ziva would have kissed Tony in Dead Air… :)**

Meanwhile, Abby and McGee had retreated out of the clearing, and back into the safe zone—away from the sleeping jaguars.

"Oh God, I hope he's alive…Ziva will be such a wreck if he's de—if he's not," Abby whispered, biting her nails. McGee put a reassuring hand around her shoulder, squeezing tightly.

At that moment, Tony and Ziva emerged from the trees and Abby all but screamed her sigh of relief. Tony looked like he was going to fall apart—he had not eaten or drank a single thing for 4 days. Ziva's arms were wrapped protectively around his chest, supporting a lot of his weight to stop him from collapsing. Abby immediately rushed over and hugged him. He winced.

"Oh, sorry Tony! I'm just so glad you're alive…" she cried, not letting go. Tim just stood in the background with a dumbfounded goofy grin on his face. Ziva watched the scene, exhausted from holding Tony's weight the entire way back.

"Good to see you too, Abs," Tony croaked out.

Getting Tony back to camp, they immediately hydrated him with water and let him nibble on a few berries. Nothing that would upset his stomach. Ziva sat as close to him as possible, watching him with concern in her eyes. Quickly, she got up and grabbed one of the blankets, tearing off a corner with her teeth, folding it into a square and dipping it into some of their fresh water. Abby and McGee watched her, confused, until she settled back down next to a dazed Tony, dabbing the large, infected gash on his cheek with the cloth. Ziva gently pressed it to his cheek, trying to ignore Tony's wincing. Subconsciously, their fingers intertwined, not escaping Abby's grin and McGee's confused look.

"What's goin' on out…oh, it's you," Garrett grumbled, disappointed. Tony shot him a look.

"What, no warm welcome?" he said sarcastically. Garrett raised his eyebrows with a smirk.

"Actually, I'm not too _warm_ about _welcoming_ ya," he sneered. The others watched this display intently.

"FYI, I almost _died_ just then."

"Dang…_so_ close."

This was too far for Tony.

"What the hell is this about, Garrett? I haven't done anything to you!"

Garrett simply looked at him with contempt.

"Whatever," he snapped.

"Is this…is this about Ziva?" Tony questioned with quiet anger. Ziva's eyes widened.

"_Yes_, it's about Ziva, you dumbass! She's too good for you! She belongs with someone whose life is actually _going_ somewhere! At least I can take her places and _afford_ to buy her things!" Garrett jeered.

"Ziva deserves someone who appreciates her. Someone who can take care of her without being overprotective in case she goes ninja-chick on their ass. Someone who can deal with all the American sayings she screws up…and how stubborn she is. Someone who she can talk to about anything, about her insecurities…which she shouldn't have because she's the most perfect woman I've ever met. Someone who loves her…the way she is," Tony said softly. Ziva watched him in shock and disbelief.

"Aww how cute!" Garrett sneered. "But cute little fluffy hugs aren't gonna get ya anywhere in life. Ain't that right, gorgeous?" he began, reaching to stroke Ziva's cheek. But before she could react, Tony had growled and leapt at him. Tony drew his fist back, aided by the element of surprise, and slammed it against his jaw with a sickening _crack_. Again, and again, until Garrett finally took control of the situation and flipped him, laying into Tony's face with punches. Abby screamed and Ziva and McGee stood in shock.

Both of the fighting men stood up and attempted to tackle the other, Tony wobbling slightly. Ziva gasped.

"_NO! _Tony, do not fight him! You are too weak right now...stop!" she yelled. Delayed slightly, Tony stopped fighting to let her words process. Unfortunately, Ziva was right. Tony was weak, dehydrated, starving, bruised and injured. Ordinarily he would have been able to beat Garrett, but now…he didn't stand a chance.

And so he backed off.

The team breathed a sigh of relief that was short-lived as Tony collapsed to the ground, Garrett falling as well. Ziva rushed over to her partner. He was still breathing and conscious, but looked hurt. She bent down.

"What the hell were you thinking, DiNozzo?" she said in disbelief. He smiled a weak smile.

"Defending your honour," he said sarcastically. She chuckled, but stopped.

"Did you really mean all those things that you said?" she asked softly.

"Of course I did," he whispered, careful not to let the team overhear. Ziva placed a hand on his cheek.

"Thank you," she said, leaning in slightly. She kissed his cheek softly, ignoring the gasp from Abby. Tony winced.

"Sore…all over…" he panted.

"We will fix you up. Soon you will be as right as a rainbow," she smiled.

"_Rain,_ Ziva. Right as _rain_," he grinned. She rolled her eyes.

"Same thing. Come on, let's get you up," Ziva insisted, placing her arms under him to support some of his weight. "_Ugh_. Abby, McGee, a little help here?" she said, struggling to help him up. The dumbstruck agents rushed over to help Tony up and into his tent.

It looked like Garrett was sleeping outside once again.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

With Tony sleeping as he slowly healed, it looked like the team were back to square one once again.

"Gibbs will be here any day now," Abby assured the others. "Director Shepard would have found a way to locate us." McGee nodded. At least that was what he _hoped_.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

Gibbs strode into MTAC clutching his usual cup of coffee, to find the Director doing what she did best.

"We've organized a chopper to take us to the Bahamas and fly us over the islands," she said, acknowledging Gibbs as he walked in.

"How soon can we leave?" he questioned.

"As soon as we have approval from SECNAV. It's a military chopper," Jenny explained. Gibbs inwardly groaned.

"That could take _days_, Jen. We don't have days!" he said. Jenny turned to him.

"Well I'm afraid it's the best I can do at the moment," she said coldly. All of a sudden her expression changed. "Jethro," she whispered, "It's been weeks…You know the chances of them still being alive even if they survived the crash are slim to none."

Gibbs gut lurched at the thought. "No," he said, "They're still alive. I know they are."

At this moment, one of the workers turned their head to the agents.

"Director, we just got SECNAV's approval. The chopper is waiting at Quantico for your arrival."

Jenny looked at Gibbs.

"Time to go," she smirked. Gibbs showed a faint smile.

"How long's the ride?"

Jenny opened her mouth then closed it again, evidently not sure of the answer. She turned to the man that had spoken before.

"Uhh…by chopper…" he mused, typing furiously, "Approximately twenty to twenty two hours," he said. Gibbs' stomach dropped.

**A/N: I don't even CARE that this one isn't accurate. I don't want it to be :) Besides, the longer the trip, the longer before the story ends for you guys! :D**

"They could be dead by then!" he growled.

"It's all we've got. We'll leave in four hours, we need to get supplies and stock the chopper with fuel," she said. Gibbs rolled his eyes and stormed out, slamming the door. The workers were silent in amazement.

"He really _is_ like a child sometimes…" Jenny chuckled to herself.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

The team had lifted and carried Tony into his tent (with difficulty,) and now sat around the remains of the fire, attempting to figure out what to do next.

"At least we're all back together," smiled Abby. "And even if we die, we can die happy." This did not reassure Ziva or McGee in the slightest. Ziva yawned.

"Go get some sleep, Ziva. You deserve it after all you've done today. Just take an afternoon nap and we'll wake you up in a few hours," suggested McGee. Ziva protested, but she was cut off by another earth-shattering yawn, finally agreeing and retreating to her tent.

Collapsing on the bed, Ziva noticed that Tony lay awake under the blanket and stared at the leafy canopy.

"How do you feel?" asked Ziva. He turned his head towards her.

"Better…and now even better that I have company," he smiled, edging over towards her. Tony wrapped his arms around Ziva's waist and pulled her into him, so that her head lay on his chest and his lips rested in her hair. Her heart throbbed in her chest as she smiled back. She sighed.

"What's wrong?" he questioned, concerned.

"That is just it…nothing is wrong. I am just happy that we are…here."

"Here? We're castaways!" Tony said, confused.

"That is not what I meant…" Ziva continued, "I meant here as in…" she paused, inhaling deeply to exhale a sigh, "_Here_…" she finished, whispering. He chuckled.

"You mean with me?" he asked, smiling.

"Yes, with you. But do not let your ego get too big about it," she warned. He simply grinned.

"Too late," he said. She groaned.

They rolled over so that now they were facing each other, Tony's top arm draped over her waist, and her top arm near her face. Their other hands were intertwined as he brushed his thumb softly over her knuckles. Ziva's eyes fluttered closed as he leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"You were the only thing that kept me alive when I was there, you know," he whispered softly in her ear. "Otherwise I would have given up fighting." Ziva's eyes opened as he pressed another gentle kiss to her lips. She smiled faintly.

"Now what was that one for?" she asked. Almost inaudible, he uttered his answer.

"For being worth fighting for."

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

Several hours later, Abby approached the tent to wake Ziva. The sight she saw immediately brought her hand to her mouth and a smile to her face.

Tony and Ziva were both sound asleep. Ziva's head lay on his chest and their fingers were woven together on top of his abdomen. Tony's arm was wrapped protectively around her waist and his face was buried in her hair. Abby watched the slow rise and fall of their ribcages—they were so peaceful it made their current nightmare-ish situation disappear.

Deciding not to disturb them, Abby carefully shut the door of the tent, retreating to the camp with a huge goofy grin on her face. McGee shot her a confused look.

"What?" he asked. She beckoned to him to come over to the tent and gently pulled the door back a bit.

Even McGee cracked a smile at the sight.

"It's about time," he whispered. Abby brought a finger to her lip in the universal sign for "Shhh" as Ziva snuggled further into Tony in her sleep, digging her face into his neck while snoring quietly.

"_If we only had a camera…_" McGee thought, "_Imagine the blackmail…_"

Abby glared at him and shook her head, as if reading his mind. He just smiles as they closed the door once again and settled down in their own tent.

"They're so cute," Abby sighed, grinning. McGee nodded. "But we can't say anything to them about it," she cautioned. Tim gave her a puzzled look.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I want it to be their choice when they finally tell us. Even if that's forever away…" she yawned, trailing off. With that logic, McGee agreed, lying down next to her and smiling.

"Y'know Abs…I actually think Gibbs is gonna find us. The other's might have given up, but I don't know…call it my gut, but I think he's on his way right now," he said, staring at the canopy. Abby grinned widely as she leant over and kissed his cheek. He was surprised.

"What was that for?" McGee questioned in shock as he blushed.

"For not giving up. You see, that's why I love you Tim…you always know what to do to make me smile…" she said, getting progressively softer. When McGee looked over, she was fast asleep.

Smiling as his heart pounded, Tim collapsed into slumber that night while thinking of the abstract way that Abby had just told him she loved him.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

_2100 hrs_

_Somewhere Above the Atlantic Ocean_

The chopper's blades whirred, drowning out all but yelling as means of communication. The pilot was intensely focused on his work, leaving Gibbs and Jenny in the back, sitting together.

"Jethro…do you think we'll find them?" the Director yelled. Gibbs looked at her.

"Yeah. Whether they're alive when we _do_ is what I wanna know," he answered.

"Twelve hours til the Bahamas, sir," yelled the pilot. Gibbs nodded.

It was time to get his team back.

**A/N: What do you think? Drop a review! Only about one or two more chapters til the end of this one! Thanks guys!**

**xXtegannXx**


	13. Care

By morning, the team had awoken feeling sluggish and slow. Before, all were running on minimal food—and that minimal food had now run out. Tony was feeling this pain more than the others, both because he was used to pigging out on massive amounts of food and because of his broken and injured body—which was definitely not helping his mood. He lay in the tent, while the others were gathered around the campfire discussing food gathering and survival strategies.

"Well all of us think that Gibbs is on his way, we just need to make sure we're okay until he finds us," said Abby, thinking.

"We will be fine. We must concentrate on the most important things, food, water, shelter, and warmth," Ziva offered, tucking her now-wild hair behind her ears.

"We should set a duty for each person," said McGee. Abby gestured to him.

"Why don't you take charge? Tell us what we need to do, Tim!" she grinned. McGee blushed with everyone's eyes on him and the sudden pressure. Neither Ziva nor Garrett seemed to have a problem with the arrangement.

Tim cleared his throat. "Right, uh…Ziva, you'll be in charge of hunting for meat," he said. Ziva nodded. "Abby, you can gather the other things, like water, fruit and berries. I'm pretty sure you'll be the best at identifying the poisonous stuff," McGee continued. Abby agreed. "And I'll be responsible for making sure the shelter is still safe, gathering firewood and overseeing you guys," he finished. The girls liked the arrangement. Garrett interjected.

"And what will _I_ be doin'?" he asked. McGee smirked.

"You can Tony-sit," he said deviously. Garrett's eyes widened.

"Uh-uh! No way am I waitin' on that grinnin' fool! I'd rather die out here!" he protested.

"That can be arranged," said Ziva coldly, her eyes hardening. Garrett gulped and backpedalled.

"Uhh, sure. I'll look after him," he said, his eyes flickering nervously to the assassin's murderous glare. McGee smiled.

"Good then, everybody knows what they have to do, so let's get to it!" he said, standing up. The others began to move towards their respective duties, but Ziva lagged behind.

"McGee," she said, tapping him on the shoulder. Tim turned around.

"Yeah, Ziva?"

"There is a small problem," she told him.

McGee wrinkled his brows, confused.

"What's up?"

She looked at him with a deadpan expression.

"I am not sure whether I will be able to refrain from killing him, whether he does his duties or not."

McGee grinned.

"That makes two of us, Ziva."

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

Tony stared at the canopy of the tent, the early dawn sunlight seeping through the cracks and throwing bent streams of light onto his bed. He sighed, wishing that he could go out there and be helpful to the others—he wasn't doing anyone much good lying in here. But he settled on closing his eyes, steadying his breath and relaxing, listening to the sounds around him. The waves breaking gently on the beach, the soft whispers of his colleagues, the steady calls of the jungle birds, the whirring of helicopter blades…

Wait.

_Helicopter blades?_

Tony's eyes shot wide open as he leapt out onto the beach.

Sure enough, squinting into the sun, the agent could just make out the black speck in the sky that was the helicopter. He swung frantically around, trying to locate the rest of his team.

"PROBIE! ABBY! ZIVA! HURRY UP, COME HERE!" he yelled. But they were all gone, doing their duties. (And Garrett in the jungle hitting on Ziva yet again.)

Tony jumped around and waved his arms frantically, ignoring the blinding, stabbing pains coursing through his body. The helicopter was now hovering almost directly over him.

And it showed no signs of stopping.

"_HEY! OVER HERE! HELP!_" he screamed.

But it was too late. The helicopter had disappeared past the mountainous trees of the jungle behind him.

Tony felt like he had just been punched repeatedly in the gut, never mind the pain from the rest of his injuries. If in that helicopter had been Gibbs, it was over. They were done for—nobody else was looking for them.

He sank onto the hot sand, almost on the verge of tears. Scrolling through his mind were pictures of McGee wasting away to nothing, Abby's gaunt skin pinched over her cheekbones, Ziva's gorgeous olive tan slowly paling as her bright eyes dulled and she exhaled her last breath, limp in his arms…

By now, the tears had escaped and woven their way down his grimy face. He just didn't know how to tell the team that they would never be leaving here…

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

McGee plopped onto the sand with a _thud._

Ziva had her face in her hands.

Abby's lip trembled.

"…he just…flew right past us?" asked Tim in disbelief. Tony nodded, Ziva sitting next to him.

"No…he can't have…he must have seen us…he's _Gibbs!_" Abby stuttered.

Tony stroked Ziva's hair softly, her face still buried in her hands.

"It's gonna be okay…_we're_ gonna be okay, Zee…"

She looked up.

"No…it is over, _motek_," she said sadly, meeting his soft green eyes. And he couldn't find the heart to argue with her. He simply kissed her forehead gently and slid his arms around her, pulling her as close as possible to rest on his shoulder. The other two didn't even notice.

And they all sat in silence for some time. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. But they simply remained together, letting their friends and lovers hold them up when they were on the verge of crumbling into ash.

And nature was silent with them.

Until a sound ruined it.

It was a very unwelcomed sound—Abby almost considered yelling at it to go away. The incessant whirring and beating… She opened her mouth to complain when something clicked in her mind.

Whirring…beating…

_Helicopter._

She shot to her feet in a flash, looking up to the heavens.

And sure enough, she spotted the copter, hovering back from the direction it had disappeared from. In shock, the rest of the team stood and they all began screaming and waving their arms frantically.

"_HEY!_"

"_DOWN HERE!_"

"_HELP US!_"

"_GIBBS!_"

And words could not describe what they felt as they saw the helicopter slowly but surely lowering from the sky.

Their hair whipped around them as the black chopper landed on the beach and the blades slowly stopped whirring. The door slid open and a comb of silvery hair emerged from it.

"_Gibbs!_" Abby cried as she launched herself full pelt into the man's arms, sobbing. He stroked her hair lovingly.

As Abby continued to weep in his arms, Gibbs looked up and surveyed the agents.

McGee, whose face looked even more gaunt and pinched than before, his clothes ripped and dirty, watching the scene with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

Tony, who was obviously badly injured, an infected gash running down his cheek and bruises and cuts all over his body, and clutching a much smaller Ziva to his chest like life itself.

Ziva…her hair was a mess, her eyes duller, complexion paler, her skin stretched tightly over her bones and wounds covering her, eyes wide in disbelief.

They looked so weak and defeated.

Yet Leroy Jethro Gibbs had never been more proud of his team. _His _team. A half smile worked its way onto his face as he gave them a single nod of approval.

Beckoning to his family, the man said only one sentence.

"Time to go home."

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

A shock of red hair emerged from the craft.

"Jethro, don't you think we should have a look at the wreck first?" she questioned. He nodded as the team slowly led him to the wreckage of the crash.

It didn't look like there was much to see—the left side of the plane had broken off and pieces of it lay everywhere.

"I'm pretty sure one of the fuel tanks overheated and exploded," said Garrett, "But I haven't had a chance to have a proper look yet."

What a perfect way to wrap up the perfect story. But no, Gibbs' gut told him that there was more to it than that.

Grabbing a piece of the metal hanging off the plane, Gibbs yanked hard.

And what was behind shocked everyone. Garrett's expression was one of horror.

The fuel tank sat there, with a perfect, long slash in its side.

This was not a simple accident.

This was sabotage.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

A couple of hours later, all sat comfortably in the helicopter as it hovered over the Atlantic Ocean and back towards D.C.

Home.

Jenny had thrown a blanket over the team plus this man named Garrett. McGee and Abby were huddled up together, both snoring softly. Jen sat with Gibbs, flicking through the photos of the fuel tank that he had taken, and Ziva was curled up beside Tony, her head resting on his shoulder.

No one could see their fingers woven together beneath the blanket.

Once they had reached Quantico, there would be no rest for them, just a quick shower and change and they would be back working on a case.

Theirs.

**A/N: I'm not even gonna bother with the "I've been busy," stuff, coz I have, and you guys know that! Otherwise I would have written and posted this heaps earlier. There's only one more chapter to this one, an epilogue of sorts. Thanks for reading and please, please drop a review on the way out! It really makes my day :)**


	14. Epic logue

"Ziver, what the hell happened to your head?" asked Gibbs, as they exited the chopper. He touched the wound lightly but she shrugged him away.

"It is nothing, I assure you Gibbs," she replied. She was sure not to let on that the pain from it was excruciating and causing her to see everything in double. She wasn't even sure how she had managed to last this long.

"It is _not_ nothing! She was unconscious for almost a whole night!" insisted Abby, cringing when she saw the deep, infected gash on her best friend's head. Tony and McGee emerged from the craft, agreeing with the forensic scientist. McGee headed over to join a conversation between Abby and Gibbs. Tony came up behind Ziva, resting a hand gently on the small of her back.

"Ziva, we need to get you to a hospital," he murmured in her ear. She began to protest.

"I am _fine_, Tony. I do not need-"

She was cut off by him pressing a soft kiss behind her ear.

"Please. For me," he said. She groaned.

"Fine, but I do not see why…why I…why I need…" Ziva trailed off, her eyes focusing and unfocusing. Tony panicked.

"Ziva, _Ziva!_ Are you alright?" he asked frantically. Her legs buckled from under her and she began to fall. The rest of the team turned around just in time to witness him catching her in his arms. She was still conscious.

"I am fine, just dizzy," she insisted. The team exchanged looks before sending Tony to put her in an ambulance.

When he returned, he filled in the other agents.

"Doc said she'd be fine—it did most of its healing itself. She's just going into surgery to extract some pieces of glass from the window embedded in her skin. She…didn't want anyone to come with her. She'll be okay," he said.

This did not reassure the others in the slightest.

Gibbs broke the silence.

"Well do ya wanna know who wanted you dead? Come on, back to the office," he said, walking away. The team followed.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

Back in the bullpen, Tony and McGee worked furiously on discovering who their saboteur and attempted murderer was. Garrett hung out by Ziva's desk, and this made Tony grit his teeth and clench his fists as he attempted to ignore it.

"Boss I got a lead," called Tony as Gibbs came down the stairs. The team leader raised his eyebrows and motioned for him to continue.

"Laura Breckner." McGee's head snapped up. Tony grinned, enjoying this. "A girl Tiny Tim broke up with last month. Found several emails from her to him saying that he would regret this and that she would, and I quote, "kill you, you bastard and everyone you love."

McGee pulled a confused face.

"I don't remember getting any of those emails," he said, puzzled. Tony's grin grew wider.

"Ah, you see, McHeartbreaker—that was because the email server bounced back the message after "I hope you burn in hell you dic-"

"_We get the point_, DiNozzo," cut off Gibbs. "Follow it up. I gotta go see Abby."

"On it, Boss!"

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

When Gibbs entered the lab, Caf-POW in hand, the first thing he noticed was the blaring music.

Yes, things were starting to feel right again.

The second thing he noticed were the various discarded Caf-POW cups already littering the room.

The third thing he noticed was the absence of Abby.

With a quizzical look on his face, Gibbs ducked his head round the corner of the machinery.

"Abs?" he called. He heard a sigh of relaxation and followed the sound, wobbling when he almost stepped on her. Abby lay on the ground, sprawled out like a starfish, back in her usual gothic attire, complete with lab coat and dog collar.

"Abs what the heck are you doing down _there_?" he questioned. She sighed again.

"It's _sooooooo_ good to be home," she sighed. Gibbs extended his hand and helped her up off the ground.

"You called me down here to watch ya be a starfish?"

She feigned a hurt expression.

"_Gibbs!_ You know me better!" she cried, her look of hurt fading into a grin.

"You got somethin'?" he asked.

"Of course!"

Abby led him to her computer, where on the screen there was a blown up picture of the slash in the fuel tank. She had 3-D modelled it and on the opposite screen a search was scrolling through possible weapon matches.

"My machines! I missed you so much…"

Gibbs raised his eyebrows.

"Right, _so!_" she began, "The first thing I noticed that was weird about this slash is that the weapon used wasn't easily identifiable."

Gibbs looked at her.

"Well that's weird for _me_, Gibbs! I mean, a straightforward cut like this should have been easy for me to identify! This weapon…is definitely out of the ordinary!" she mused.

"And?"

"The second thing I noticed were these marks….here," she zoomed in on a point of the 3D model, "…and _here._ All the wrinkled metal shows that there was a lot of force behind it, meaning that the weapon can't have been that sharp. In fact, it might not have been a weapon at all!"

"You're losin' me, Abs."

"Well, not to say that it isn't a weapon at all, just a weapon that wasn't meant to be used as a _weapon._"

Gibbs looked even more annoyed.

"It almost seems like…this _weapon_, was in fact meant to be a really close _model_ of a weapon. A knife in particular. Something that is supposed to look almost exactly like the real thing, but with a blunted edge for safety. Almost like they'd use in plays or-"

"…movies," finished Gibbs for her, his eyes widened. He kissed Abby on the cheek and thanked her as he hurriedly left.

But Abby didn't realise exactly what he was thinking until after he was gone.

"Oh no…"

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

After finding the weapon in his pocket, Gibbs stood behind Garrett Poole, cuffing him.

"Why'd you do it?" asked the agent.

"Wanted time with that pretty Israeli…so she could get to know me and realise how awesome I am," he squeaked in pain from the cuffs. "I did it at just the right place so the amount of fuel would last for the exact right amount of time to get us onto one of those islands," he smirked, proud of himself.

Tony was refraining from punching the man, Ziva beside him, freshly stitched up.

"Are you _insane?_ You could have gotten us all killed! You almost _did_ get Ziva killed!" Tony growled.

"Well we all got out of there alive, didn't we?" he said. Tony shook his head.

"You really _are_ crazy."

As Gibbs went to shove him in the back of a van, Ziva sauntered up to the Southern drawler.

"Just one more thing," she smirked, batting her eyelashes. He smiled as she reached up to whisper in his ear. "Don't worry," she murmured, "You do not need me. I am sure there are plenty of big, buff men that will give you all the loving you need in the slammer."

Garrett paled noticeably and gulped as she waved teasingly goodbye.

*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*NCIS*

Gibbs had gone to sort some things out with the Director and McGee and Abby were already out celebrating their return home. Tony and Ziva were left in the office, standing in the area between the desks. He slid his arms around her waist and looked down at her.

"Well that took care of him," grinned Tony. She chuckled.

"What, afraid of the competition?" Ziva smirked. Tony's expression changed.

"What do you mean 'competition?' There was competition?" he asked, shocked. She simply smiled at him.

"Do not worry, with you around, there will never be any competition."

He was taken aback by the sudden compliment, but instead of thanking her, he simply pressed his lips to hers and caught his fingers in her hair. The kiss quickly became passionate, and the agents seemed to have forgotten both the world around them, and the need for oxygen.

"It took you two a plane crash, three weeks on a deserted island and an almost murder to figure out what the rest of us did years ago?"

They broke apart suddenly and turned to the direction of the voice.

Gibbs and Jenny leaned on the railing of the stairs leading up to her office with grins plastered on their faces.

Tony chuckled nervously.

"Hey, at least we _have _figured it out," he shouted as he and Ziva retreated to the elevator.

"What's that supposed to mean?" called Jenny after the already closed elevator.

Gibbs smiled and kissed her softly on the cheek.

"Oh you know exactly what it means, Jen."

_*Phoof*_

_End._

**Wow. We have finally reached the end of our friends' epic journey. Well I sincerely hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did, and my muse and I would really appreciate it if you left your thoughts in a review on the way out! See you when creativity next finds me! :D**

**xXtegannXx**


End file.
